What It Feels Like For A Girl
by RedneckAngel
Summary: Twilight in reverse. Edward suffers a loss and is forced to move to dismal Forks Washington. What will happen when he sees beautiful and dangerous Bella and her large family of immortal young adults?
1. And So It Begins

What It Feels Like…For A Girl

(Grasping For Daylight)

**"What It feels Like For A Girl"**

_[Spoken:]_  
Girls can wear jeans  
And cut their hair short  
Wear shirts and boots  
'Cause it's OK to be a boy  
But for a boy to look like a girl is degrading  
'Cause you think that being a girl is degrading  
But secretly you'd love to know what it's like  
Wouldn't you  
What it feels like for a girl

Silky smooth  
Lips as sweet as candy, baby  
Tight blue jeans  
Skin that shows in patches

Strong inside but you don't know it  
Good little girls they never show it  
When you open up your mouth to speak  
Could you be a little weak

Do you know what it feels like for a girl  
Do you know what it feels like in this world  
For a girl

Hair that twirls on finger tips so gently, baby  
Hands that rest on jutting hips repenting

Hurt that's not supposed to show  
And tears that fall when no one knows  
When you're trying hard to be your best  
Could you be a little less

Do you know what it feels like for a girl  
Do you know what it feels like in this world  
What it feels like for a girl

Strong inside but you don't know it  
Good little girls they never show it  
When you open up your mouth to speak  
Could you be a little weak

Do you know what it feels like for a girl  
Do you know what it feels like in this world  
For a girl

In this world  
Do you know  
Do you know  
Do you know what it feels like for a girl  
What it feels like in this world

I leaned my head against the headrest of the car that was transporting me to my very own special seventh circle of hell. Closing my eyes, I thought back to the moments leading up to the vicious drive to dismal Forks, Washington. The memories played out like a movie montage behind my eyelids.

_I wailed in the middle of the muddy dirt road, on my knees, tears tracing their way down my cheeks. Through the tears, I saw the 4Runner disappear out of sight as it rounded the curve. I couldn't get past the news that screamed its way through my brain, squashing my heart unrepentantly. AMBER WAS DEAD!!!! She was never going to sneak in my window and plead with me to sleep at my house again! _

_My heart splintered and caught fire again. Her mother had found her in the bathtub, her body empty of blood, a kitchen knife sunken at the bottom of the bathwater, her wrists slashed open. For months, she had been telling me of her mother's displeasure of our love affair. Her mother had thought me unworthy of her daughter's attention, me being the son of a harebrained tarot card reader. Her parents were devout Catholics and believed that my mother was Satan incarnate. _

_Amber had told me that she would rather die than be without me. I had always told her that she was being too melodramatic and steered the conversation into a lighter area. If I had only listened to her. I had thought several times about just getting in my crappy little Honda Civic, going to her house and getting her and her stuff and just skipping town. A week prior to her death, I just went for it; she was thrilled of my decision for us to run away together._

_Unfortunately, the police officer that pulled us over wasn't too happy. Her parents had called the cops the second they found her out of her room. They gave my car's description to the police, including my license plate number. We were caught three hours later. Her parents dropped the kidnapping charges with my mother's promise that we would never see each other again. _

_I remember the last time I saw her: her face was tearstained and her eyes were puffy, red and swollen. The agony etched on her face was tangible. She had bruises all over her from fighting with her parents. I felt my heart begin to die right then. Her shoulder length crimson tinted brown curls were extraordinarily unkempt. Her tight ringlet curls were normally magnificent. They framed her face so beautifully. Even her ice blue eyes looked dead. She looked right in my eyes and told me the words that cut my heart out: "Edward, my mother has shown me that our relationship was never destined to last long. It was puppy love. I don't want to lie to you anymore, I don't love you. I don't want to be with you anymore. I figured that after you have been so loyal to me over the past five years that you deserved to hear this face to face and not over the phone." With that carefully rehearsed lie, she kissed my forehead and turned her back to me and walked right out of my life._

_I tried not to think of my pain, only focusing on hers. The betrayal hung in the air like a poisonous gas, threatening to choke me. I cried myself to sleep for the first time that night, repeating that routine each night for the next four nights until the fateful day that her parents came knocking on my door._

_My head still ached from all the crying that I had been doing as of late. I went to the door and unceremoniously flung the door open to cease the pounding on it. To say that I was shocked to be face to face with the two people in the world that starred nightly in my nightmares is an understatement. I felt my mouth drop open. Amber's mother took a step forward to close the gap between us and raised her hand. She had slapped me right across my cheek, instantly making me furious. I stepped back, seconds away from slamming the door in her emotionless face. She narrowed her eyes and began the few short sentences that finished demolishing my world._

"_I really hope that you are proud of yourself, Edward Swan. Amber was found dead this morning in the bathtub. The grief that she felt about leading you on all those years finally did her in. I really hope that _you_ can sleep all the way through the night; God knows we never will again. She cut open her arms with a kitchen knife! Don't stare at me like you're stupid, you fucking brat!! This is all your fault!" By then, her carefully constructed façade crumpled completely and she reduced herself to sobs. _

_I was incredulous. How dare she?! "You fucking cunt!!" I screamed, launching myself out of the door, knocking her to the ground, my knees on either side of her hips, ready to punch her right in her lying fucking mouth. "It is not my fault BITCH!" I spat, "It was the story that _you_ made her tell that finally broke her! I was the one that always had to be there to pick up the pieces when _you_ shattered her over and over again!" _

_Her husband grabbed me roughly, throwing me back through the open door. By the time I had gotten back to my feet, they had already made it back to their car and were backing out of the driveway. I ran out to the road, picking up stones and throwing them as hard as I could at their back window. The last surge of anger I was able to muster helped me propel a large stone at the window; sadly, I didn't feel any better when I heard the back window shatter. I was only able to sink desolately to my knees, my hands ripping through my hair. GONE!! Amber was gone!_

_Two weeks later, the depression had gotten worse, my mother was no help. She swore that Amber's death was proof that she wasn't strong enough emotionally to live in this harsh world. I climbed dejectedly into a warm bath fully clothed. I silently cried as I clutched the old kitchen knife in my hand, and dragged the sleeves up my arms. I was hell bent that I would be seeing Amber soon. If the punishment for killing yourself was hell, well then, bring it on. I could only pray that Satan himself would see fit to let me be tortured next to her._

_I let out a shaky breath and put the cold blade to my wrist. Pushing as hard as I possibly could, I dragged the blade up my arm, not stopping until I reached my elbow. Then I did the same to the other arm. At first, the massive torrents of blood that mingled with the water alarmed me. I fought the urge of calling for help by remembering that this was the only way I could see _her_. Only seconds later, my mother was in the bathroom screaming at me. She put pressure on the wounds until the paramedics got there._

_A week later, she came into my room with a complete parental look on her face. She glanced down at my stitches, seventy-three in each arm to keep the wounds closed. "Okay, so." She started. I knew that this was not going to be easy for her; she didn't like to act like a parent. "I talked to your father about what happened. He is as worried about you as I am. You are going to live with him. Your flight leaves tomorrow at nine am." The tears began their silent course down my face as I thought about what that meant._

_I was heading to the place where my father lived. They averaged twelve sunny days a year. TWELVE! What in the hell was I supposed to do with that?? I did the only thing that I could do: I cried myself to sleep. Sixteen hours later, I was in my father's police cruiser speeding towards the perpetually rainy and small town of Forks._

I threw myself into my studies, getting better grades than I ever had. I had only been at Forks High for two weeks when my world shifted again, turning itself over on its ear.

I was sitting at the lunch table with the closest thing I could call my friend. Mike was blabbering on about some girl that he had been looking at for a serious round of mattress wrestling. I was eating my pizza and salad, not really noting the taste. From out of the corner of my eye, I saw movement and instinctively looked toward the movement.

My breath caught in my throat as I studied the girl I had never seen before glide into the cafeteria. She was about 5 foot, 6 inches tall, had chocolate brown hair, butterscotch eyes and a body to die for. What caught my attention was her outfit. Most of the girls in this damned school were overly obsessed with how they looked. It looked like this girl just didn't give a damn…just like Amber. She wore a tight and faded t-shirt declaring that she was "deliciously dangerous" and a pair of ripped shiny black leather pants. The rips started right at her pantyline and went down across her legs about five inches apart the whole way down each leg.

Mike caught me ogling her and quickly snapped me out of my inspection, "Ah, I see you have noticed Bella Cullen. Isn't she gorgeous? Apparently, none of the guys around here are good enough for her. We all think she's batting for the other team." He whispered conspiratorially. I couldn't help but sigh at the thought of her licking down a girl's body. "Seriously dude, she's waaaaay out of your range." I nodded my head in agreement; it's not the first time that I'd been told that I was unworthy of a girl.

It was then that I knew; I had to meet this Bella Cullen.


	2. She Confounds Us All

**A/N: So, I am going to try to get this one updated more often and use 'The Challenge' as an outlet if something is getting to me or if I want to experiment with other pairings. **

**My thanks and love goes to Dil9 who has agreed to be my beta so that I can improve my writing! It's a pleasure to work (or play, depending on how you look at it) with you. I look forward to bouncing my ideas off of you and see where they go.**

**Here's Chapter 2 to What It Feels Like For A Girl. As always, I own nothing in the Twi world.**

**Please leave me a review to let me know what you think or anything you might like to see happen.**

EPOV

I sat at the lab table that I shared with Bella (who coincidentally has never been to class) going over my notes on the microbiology project due today. I was so deep in thought over the setup of the cell structure I had drawn out the night before…there were so many things lacking in the artistic layout, but was far too late to fix…that I hadn't noticed there was someone sitting next to me.

I looked to the previously vacant chair and found myself looking into the butterscotch eyes of none other than Miss Bella Cullen.

I sucked a shocked breath in between my teeth and saw just the corner of her mouth quirk up into a semblance of a smile. The smile only lasted a few milliseconds before a scowl quickly replaced it…the transition was so fast that I might have missed it had I not been studiously paying attention to her.

"Hi, my name is…" I started before her melodic voice cut me off quickly, "I know who you are, Edward – as it seems you know who I am. Looks like we're lab partners."

I looked dumbly at her beautiful face trying desperately to figure out why she sounded so hostile about being my lab partner. She did nothing more than scowl harder looking straight ahead.

"Bella, look," I started again, trying to get us back on good standing.

"No, little boy," she bit off through clenched teeth in a clipped voice, "_you_ listen. I have _all_ the friends I need in my siblings and more than enough guys drooling over me so I feel the need to let you know that I'm terminally unavailable."

"**Fuck that, Edward!" **my inner voice shouted, "**You have never let a woman talk to you like that before. Why the fuck now?"**

"Just so you know," I replied, anger pinching my voice, "I actually wasn't looking for a date…I just figured that _if_ we're going to be working so closely in bio that it might be a good idea to be amicable. I see that I was wrong. So since you want to be a bitch to someone you don't even know, please don't speak to me unless it has something to do with the actual project or assignment we're working on…less fake pleasantries that way."

I refused to turn my head in her direction to see her reaction to being told off, for what I assumed to be the first time. I glanced out of the corner of my eye to see her glaring dumbly at me before sharply turning her body to face the front of the class.

The rest of the class flew by as I diligently ignored her.

Just as the bell was about to ring, I reached for my book and pen when my sleeve rode up on my arm far enough to show my stitches. Before I could jerk it down again, I heard an angry hiss from the seat that Bella occupied.

I yanked the sleeve back down to where it came down over my hand and looked at Bella to see her reaction.

I was prepared for revulsion or even judgment, but was taken aback when I saw an angry sort of pity across her face.

She looked into my eyes - the look only lingered a moment before a blank mask covered her features and she turned back to the front of the classroom.

What the hell is this girl's problem? First she acts like she's better than everyone, then she turns into a psycho bitch before morphing into someone who actually pretended to have feelings. Her mood swings were worse than my mother's…and that's saying something.

When the bell rang I had my things and was out of the door in a flash, hoping against hope that I would beat Bella so that I wouldn't have to look into her eyes again and see _that_ look.

What surprised me was that when I got to the door she was still sitting in her seat, a million emotions crossing her face, but the second I got out in the hallway and a room down she was right behind me.

Bella grabbed hold of my shoulder and spun me around so quickly that I lost my equilibrium and damn near fell against her.

"Edward!" she hissed, her voice shaking in what sounded a lot like anger, "What the hell were you thinking? Or did someone do that to you?"

Rage coursed through my veins and I took a deep breath before replying as steadily as I could, "I really don't see how it's any of your fucking concern, Bella."

I turned on my heel and stomped as adult as I could down the hall to the gym.

Thank God for this being my last period…because of my "injuries" I was unable to participate in any of the activities. Dad became a raving papa bear and made very sure that I wouldn't be in any situation that could even remotely pop the stitches.

I sat on the bleachers in my usual spot, about halfway up, and got out my journal. This thing had become my new best friend since my mother found me in the bathtub. It was the one place that I knew I could go without having to worry about being judged or reprimanded for my thoughts, feelings and beliefs.

I started a new entry for today...

_Yeah, so this Cullen princess is starting to wear on my nerves. How dare she act like she gives a shit after being such a stone cold bitch. Mike still talks about all of his little perverted fantasies to me starring her…which shouldn't piss me off, but I feel like somehow this girl could be the one to make the nightmares stop. They are the worst – waking up in a cold sweat, my throat raw from the screams is getting pretty old fast._

_How do I get her to drop the bitch act?_

_What if I try to get through to her just to find out that it's really not an act?_

_Why am I even worrying about this girl? Not two weeks ago, I would have told anyone who asked that my heart belongs to Amber._

_My dead girlfriend._

_Amber is **dead**._

_God, those words still chill me to the bone._

I reread over the last few lines, frowning at the way the words came together on the page. It seemed like they just didn't fit together…something about the words just wasn't right.

I could still remember this girl who had stolen my heart so vividly you'd swear that I just saw her seconds ago. I remember the last time I made her laugh. The last time I had made her smile.

The last time I made her cum.

Of all the things I'd have sworn I would have missed, the sex should have been right up there at the top. Granted, we had never actually had intercourse, but an orgasm is an orgasm – no matter how it happens. Sadly, the sex wasn't even in the top ten things I missed about her.

I was so lost in my own thoughts that I hadn't noticed that the bell had rung and everyone had left until I heard a soft voice from the bottom of the bleachers.

"Edward, are you going to stay up there all night or would you like a ride home?"

I jumped, startled, and found myself face to face with none other than Bella.

"Um," I said in a monotone, "why would you want to give a ride home to someone who you obviously dislike so much? I get being a Good Samaritan, but honestly, I've seen a LOT of horror movies and this is how the dude _always_ gets his ass killed."

"I never said I disliked you, Edward…" she explained with a small smile, "but my family sticks together and we don't take too kindly to new people who try to invade it. You see, most people see us as 'beautiful people' and for that reason we just do what we can to stay away from them. We don't need anyone in our lives for what it could do to their status – we want people who are with us because they genuinely like us. Now, I'm not going to kill you. Chief Swan called my dad and asked him if we could give you a ride to our house until he comes by to get you. There was a bit of a traffic accident on the highway so he's stuck on the scene until it gets cleaned up. Now follow me, my siblings are waiting for us."

She turned on her heel with those words and left me sitting there puzzled for only a moment before she turned around, winked at me and then strode out of the gym.

I found myself tripping all over myself to catch up with her.

I never would have guessed that today would be the day that my life would change.


	3. Baring Of The Soul

**A/N: I know, I know. ANOTHER update! (I know I'm **_**super**_** excited. Seriously. No BS'n you.**

**Once again, thanks to Dil9 who is the most wonderful beta in the world! *whispers* When she tells me I've done well, I turn into a GIANT ball of giddy. : ) Everyone should go check out her stories…they are super awesome!**

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed last chapter (even those who didn't leave a signed review), alerted and favorited the story and me. I've been on a continual high of freaking awesome ever since the very first email popped up. On with the story. ; )**

The ride to the Cullen house was horrifying to say the least.

We were riding in Bella's adoptive sister, Alice's Genesis. That alone should have made me forget everything around me, but with Alice jumping around in the seat, not paying nearly enough attention to the road was making me a bit nauseous. She spoke speedy and at such volume that I fought not to cover my ears like a sissy.

Bella sat in the passenger seat interjecting her ideas whenever she could, but mostly stayed silent so that her sister could prattle on about fashion amongst other topics. Well, fashion and Lauren Mallory was the only couple of topics that I could catch as it flew by my ears.

Nearing the end of the drive, Bella turned in her seat to face me. She winked and then rolled her eyes at me before fully facing the front of the car and turned the music up as loud as it would go. Suffice to say it completely blocked out the sound of the twittering voice of her sister.

By the time we pulled up at the house, my head was throbbing with the bass of some really badass techno that was playing.

Calling it a house was like calling a mastiff a dog. Goddamn thing is a small horse. This made all of the other smaller houses in Forks look like shitty little garages.

"It's pretty ostentatious, right?" Alice mock-whispered from my right.

"It's definitely something," I murmured, unable to take my eyes from the beautiful monstrosity.

Bella placed her hand on my left elbow and pulled me toward the house, "Come on," she giggled lightly, "I'll give you the grand tour before everyone else gets home."

I let her pull me into the foyer, still awestruck at the majesty of all things of the Cullen home. I know that I missed most of the tour, my brain finally kicking in when I heard, "Yeah, this is my room…"

My eyes widened impossibly larger at the closed decorative glass door that housed all of the secrets that was Bella Cullen.

Surely she wasn't about to invite me into her room – we're practically strangers. I know that I'm the Chief's son, but I could have been a serial killer…I mean, didn't they say that Charles Manson was a super nice guy who paid his bills on time?

I was brought back to the present by Bella snapping her fingers in front of my face with a very amused expression on her face.

"Would you like to take a look around?" she asked. The longer I took to answer her, the more lopsided her grin had become, "I swear, there's nothing in there that could bite you."

I opened my mouth to answer when a very loud snort and guffaw sounded from downstairs. I shot my eyes to the staircase, shocked that something that mundane and normal could happen here in this house.

"Alice!" Bella squealed, "That was improper as well as just RUDE! Quit listening in on my conversations!"

I heard muffled giggles and some mumbling although I couldn't quite figure out what Alice had replied back. The only thing I knew was that it was probably best that I didn't hear it because it caused Bella to roll her eyes.

She turned the lever and stepped in to the room, pushing the door open wide.

What I saw behind her surprised me.

The room looked like one of those techno night clubs you see in the movies. The walls were a dark crimson with all kinds of shapes and objects that appeared to glow in the dark. Against one wall, there was a long table with a _lot_ of music equipment on it. In the middle of the room, hanging from the very high ceiling was a rack full of strobe lights, colored lights and even a mirror ball.

Against the other wall was a large bed, all decked out in shiny midnight blue silk sheets. At the sight of the silk sheets, I felt myself begin to get twitchy.

_Come on asshole, _I chided myself; _she didn't ask you to come in here to have sex. Quit being a guy dammit!_

I looked at the wall straight ahead of me – it was wall to wall cds, tapes, 8 tracks, records.

"Holy…" my voice waivered in appreciation, "You have _so much_ music!"

She smiled shyly, "Yeah, it's kind of my hobby."

"Like, you collect music?"

"Well, something like that."

Alice took that exact moment to stick her head in the door, "I couldn't help but to overhear your conversation. Our sweet Bella doesn't just collect music - she _mixes and produces_ music. A good portion of that wall is her original compilations. She's always so modest."

Before I could even process what was said, she was gone in a flash and Bella looked like she was about to pop a vein in her neck.

"Is that true?" I couldn't help the astonishment in my voice.

"Yeah, well, there are no secrets in this house," she laughed humorlessly.

"Well, having brothers and sisters is like that," I said with a shrug.

Bella cocked her eyebrow at me, knowing that I was an only child and I shrugged again when I said, "Or so I've heard."

"Well, I know that you're the only child of Chief Swan come to live here because you're mother got remarried…well, that's pretty much the extent of it. What's your story, Edward Swan? We all have one…" she looked away from me at the last part of it.

"It seems we are on very unfair footing here, Miss Cullen," I smiled tightly, trying everything to get the attention off of me and back onto her. I wasn't ready to bring the skeletons in my closet out into the harsh light of day. Hell, I hadn't even talked to Charlie about any of this.

"My story is a boring one that I will tell you someday, Edward. I would like to know more about you." She pressed gently, "Like maybe where those wounds came from? If you don't want to talk about it, I understand. But sometimes it helps to talk to someone who is completely non-judgmental. You need a friend, Edward…I can be your friend. If you couldn't tell by how many people I actually talk to at school aside from my family members, I don't have many friends. And you need a better friend than that vile Mike Newton. That boy is like a walking STD advertisement. So, tell me about yourself, Edward Swan. Tell me about my soon to be best friend."

I sat with my mouth hanging open, unsure of what to do at this point. On one hand, I really liked the idea of being Bella's friend…she was the only girl I had seen that could make the tenseness in my chest ease that had been present ever since I lost Amber.

"Well, I'm going out on a limb here, Bella. I haven't even spoken to Charlie about any of this," I responded, deciding to let someone in and praying to any and all deities that were listening that I wasn't making a terrible mistake by letting her in.

"I was born here in Forks to my mother and father. She was…well, still is…a tarot card reader and at the time, he had picked her up on a call for disturbing the peace. From what she told me, there was a guy who lived in town that she did a reading for. Her reading showed her the death card for him. But from the way it showed it to her, she was convinced that he was the one dealing out the death. Of course, in true Mom fashion, she flipped her shit and stood out in the front yard screaming about the murderer that lived in the house…she named several missing and dead little girls. Needless to say, it didn't take long for the men of the town to go all lynch mob and kill the man. To this day, they still don't know if it was him that had done all of the killings…but by then, the damage was already done. Dad was mystified. He was so head over heels for my mom that he really didn't care about the reputation that he was getting from being seen with her. A few months later, mom ended up pregnant with me, they got a shotgun wedding and eight months later, I came into the world. It didn't take Mom long to figure out that small town life and being married to a cop wasn't the grand life that she had envisioned for herself so long ago. She left Dad all high and dry without so much as a verbal goodbye. She left him a note – something along the lines of: 'It's not you, it's me. Please don't search for us, you won't ever find us.' Dad, from what I can tell, listened to her completely. He never once looked for me…for us. She sent him divorce papers when I was 9 from a post office box in Reno, Nevada. I loved living in the Southwest. The heat down there is something that I find I'm missing since I moved here. California, Arizona…even New Mexico. We never stayed in one place for too long. A mystic and her son…we were gypsies for lack of a better term."

"When we finally landed in Phoenix, I just knew that things were going to be different. For a long time when I was 13, I thought I was going to go crazy. I started hearing voices…that no one else heard. After a year or so, I finally got used to it. When I would speak to my mom, she said that it only made sense that the son of such a _powerful_ reader would acquire great powers. She never spoke of it again except for when she felt the need to boast on me to her other _psychic_ friends. The voices came and went. I _never_ told anyone about them until I met Amber…I can't believe that I'm even talking about this now…truthfully, I don't think I would have ever spoken to Amber about it except for the fact that I managed one day to answer what I thought she was saying out loud…yeah, she was thinking a thought about needing my help with a project for class and before I knew it, I had told her that I thought it would be an amazing idea for us to get to know each other better. After a few long talks, we were inseparable. We were dating before too much longer."

"It was a tumultuous love to say the least. Her family knew about my broken home and what my mother did for a living. Needless to say they weren't too happy with Amber dating me. They had their sights a little higher for her…the town's richest family had a son about our age who had taken a shine to Amber too. He was their obvious choice…although I will never know why she chose me. Near the end, we were fighting near constantly about how her mother was doing everything in her power to keep us apart. She came to me one day and told me how I was nothing to her and that we'd be better off apart. That was the last time I saw her."

I watched Bella's face with rapt fascination as the emotions of the story weighed heavily on her. Her hand was cupping her throat and she looked like she could cry.

"Edward, what happened to Amber?" she inquired, her voice cracking under the strain.

"Bella. She's dead. Amber killed herself the day after she broke my heart."

**A/N: So, what do you think so far? Review for me? It makes me unbelievably happy…and don't you want to say that you've been able to make me **_**really, really**_** happy?**


	4. Discoveries

**A/N: So, instead of updating this on Friday, I am going to update today. Yeah, I know. I'm a sucker for going ahead and giving you what you want. Sue me, lol. After working 9 straight days at my job, I'm off Saturday, Sunday and Monday – so I'm going to try to go ahead and get a few extra chapters done and beta'd so that if for some reason I fail on writing, I will have a little cushion.**

**Thanks to my beta, Dil9. She makes my words pretty and readable, despite my ADHD and random thoughts that end up everywhere. Thanks doll! Couldn't do it without you.**

**GO check out her stories and leave her some love in the form of reviews. : )**

**I hope everyone enjoys the early update and I would LOVE to hear from ya'll.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight…but I AM the owner of a black cat named Ninja who likes to make my life hell when I'm trying to rest.**

EPOV (always)

I sat across from this beautiful girl, her face a mask of grief and pain, trying not to cry at the idea of this stranger, essentially, who was taking my story so hard. I reached over and laid my hand on her shoulder and was very surprised that she wasn't as soft and warm as I'd expected…solid as a rock was a better description…and _so_ cold.

My breath hissed in between my teeth and my mouth dropped open when she pulled away from me swiftly as if I'd burned her. The horror-stricken look on her face made me pause.

"Um," she stammered, her beautiful voice sounding as sad as she looked, "I have a condition."

"That's okay, Bella," I assured her, "You listened to me tell you about hearing voices…or people's thoughts and didn't look upon me badly. I owe you the same courtesy. If you don't want to talk about it yet, you don't have to."

"That is why Carlisle adopted us," she started, "All of us, including himself and Esme, have Raynaud's disease. There aren't many treatments as of yet that are medically proven to help, but Carlisle has found that through a certain diet, the symptoms can be controlled and we can even live _mostly_ normal, happy lives. Don't worry; it's not contagious…so you can't catch it. It causes extremely poor circulation."

She hung her head, rubbing her face as if it would magically change everything.

I had never felt worse than in that moment. I'll admit that when I first heard that Dr. and Mrs. Cullen adopted 5 teenagers, I speculated right along with Mike that the good doctor had an ulterior motive and something up his sleeve. For a full-grown man to adopt three teenage girls – all of them beautiful like super models – it's just creepy. At the worst, Mike had said he believed that Dr. Cullen had adopted the girls so that he could have his own set of sister wives. I scoffed at his perverse ideology, but upon thinking about it, it began to warm its way into my mind.

To my teenage mind, there was no one who would ever be that kind.

Apparently, not only was I wrong, I was an asshole.

In my internal ramblings, I managed to miss everything she was saying to me.

"Wait. What?" I asked my voice cracking like I was going back through puberty.

_Dear God, please no. The first time was hell._

"I said that you never did finish telling me about the scars." She said shyly.

I blushed a deep crimson and struggled to remember exactly where I had left off, "Sorry. We got a little sidetracked. Amber killed herself and I was so head over heels in love with her that I was pissed that she had gone somewhere I could not follow her. It didn't take me very long before I had thought out a plan to where I could be with her. If not in this life, the next. I decided to take matters into my own hands, if you will. I cut each wrist as far up as I could…and the next thing I knew, my mother was calling an ambulance. Shortly after, it was decided that I would be sent here to live. So, now you know."

Her infinite sadness was touching to me…making me more fond of her by the moment. I found myself wanting to share myself with this girl. My past, my present and all of my future. I wanted to wipe the sorrow from her face and cause her to smile.

"Edward," she whispered to me while looking deep into my eyes, "Please don't ever do that again. I don't know what I'd do if I lost you."

I cocked my head to the side and looked at her puzzled. Technically, we weren't even really good friends yet and here she was acting like she'd never get over it if I were to finally succeed in killing myself.

"I mean," she clarified with a chuckle, "it is high school. No one wants to bury their classmate. And I _meant_ what I said. I would love to be your best friend…but I'd prefer _not_ to lose mine."

I smiled easily at her, knowing that the more she spoke, the more she owned me. She was beginning to own my soul.

"Well, they have me on Prozac," I returned with a smirk, "I doubt I could even _find_ anything sharp enough to cut myself with most days."

My reply had the desired effect as she threw her head back and laughed. I found myself sitting, once again, completely dumbfounded. Her laugh was akin to the pealing of bells.

My eyes darted back and forth between her eyes and lips.

"Bella, what happens if I _can't _be your friend?" I was extremely embarrassed that my voice became as husky as it had, but there was no controlling my hormones. I would do well if I could control myself enough to not jump her right here and now.

Her bottom lip trembled for a moment before she replied, "Why can't you be my friend, Edward?"

"What if I wanted to be more than that to you?"

"It's not a good idea…"

I was put off by the tone her voice had taken. It was nearly the same tone that I'd heard in Amber's voice when she told the vicious lie that shattered my world.

"And why the hell wouldn't it be a good idea? I happen to think that we'd be great for each other! Is this because of your _father_? Don't think I'm good enough for you? _WHAT DO YOU WANT, BELLA?_"

I was incensed and there wasn't a thing that could be done until I had heard something that made some fucking sense.

_I swear to God, if she tells me that my problems are too great for her to handle, I will lose my shit!_

"Edward, I want to be your friend for starters and see how it goes from there. I don't want to burden you with _my_ health problems!"

I immediately sat back in a huff.

Huh? She doesn't want to burden _me_ with her health problems? Doesn't this silly girl know that I can handle _any_ health problem she would ever be diagnosed with.

I hated to sound stupid, but couldn't stop the words that came flying from my mouth, "I don't understand…"

"Edward, what would you do if we were dating or even _married_ and one day the disease kills me? I couldn't live with myself knowing that there is a possibility that you could pull a repeat performance of what you did when lost the last woman in your life. Do you see where I'm coming from?"

Her voice cut off abruptly and she buried her head in her hands as she sobbed.

I was at odds with myself. I never knew what to do when women cried…other than try to do the comforting thing…but that didn't work out so well last time.

"Just _GO_, Edward," Bella's broken voice shouted, "Alice will take you home. I just can't discuss this right now."

I ran for the stairs, in my haste not looking where I was really going, and raced down the flight leading to their front door.

As my feet touched the bottom step, I heard Alice's shrill voice ring out, "Damn it, Emmett! Jasper! Get the hell out of here!"

I looked up just in time to see the front door swing open…Emmett and Jasper walk in covered in blood, most of it around their mouths and their clothes were torn in large lines all over the fabric.

"Now do you see what you've done?" was the last thing I remembered before I began to fall and everything went black.

**A/N: Raynaud's Disease is real. The link is below…just remove the spaces and.s.**

.

**Leave me a review and let me know how I'm doing…what you'd like to see more of…less of…still open for suggestions. Plus, reviews make me ridiculously happy and everyone deserves to be that happy a few times in their life. ; )**

**Until next time.**


	5. Undeniable Truths

**A/N: So, the getting ahead didn't work…sorry about that, but onto a bright note – oh look, an update…that is actually on time, lol. I'm proud of myself for getting it done and thankful for my beautiful beta, Dil9, who got it all back to me in a much faster time frame than I expected! *whispers* It's cause she's awesome.**

**Go! Read her stuff and leave a review…she needs some super loving…ya know, cause she's amazing.**

**Anyhow, thanks to everyone who has reviewed, favorite and alerted…both the story and me.**

**Read and review…ENJOY!**

_Edward's POV_

It was dark everywhere I looked, so dark in fact, that I couldn't see my hand in front of my face. I didn't remember much…just that Bella and I had been arguing and I went to leave. Everything after that was pretty much blank…except…_oh, my God._ Bella's two adopted brothers came in covered in blood, their clothes all in tatters.

I fought against the pull of the darkness around me – chagrined that fighting my way through it was like fighting through quicksand.

The darkness had an inexplicable deafening silence that accompanied it…and for the first time in a long time, I heard nothing – no thoughts from random strangers, no thoughts from my dad who it seemed I was disappointing every time I turned around. I had begun to hear murmuring from somewhere outside of the darkness, but I was unable to pinpoint where it was coming from.

"Bella…it's too late…" I heard the voice of Alice floating through my consciousness, "trust me when I say that he saw everything…and he _will_ remember it all."

There was a murmured reply but it was so far away that I didn't catch what was said.

"We're not going to _kill_ him, Rose! Pull your head out of your ass for just a moment and **think** about what it would do to Bells if you killed him. Well, how the hell would you like it if Bella just decided one day to kill Emmett? No. We wait for Carlisle. He's on his way home right now."

_Shit. The father of the __**insane**__ guys who live here is on his way home. Great. Now what do I do? Just lay here and pretend that I'm still knocked out? Do I get up, run and hope that Rosalie doesn't take the initiative and decide to kill me before the Doctor gets here? Jesus. Way to get yourself into a pile of shit, Edward._

I pulled myself away from my internal berating long enough to hear Alice's voice again, "Bella, I assure you that your human is _fine_! He may have a headache for a few days, but no permanent damage. Even though, I _do_ see a discussion coming up in your immediate future about today's events. He will have either one of two reactions. Either he will want to discuss it without delay or he will run from our house and we will never see him again, aside from school."

I was finally able to hear Bella's beautiful voice, "But Alice – do you not understand? No matter what, I'm going to lose him! This is **completely** unacceptable. How did this even happen in the first place? I thought Emmett and Jasper weren't going to be back from their hunting trip until the morning! How in the fuck did they not only manage to come back several hours early, but they also managed to come right in the door at the exact wrong time? He was supposed to be mine! It's been my turn for centuries! Honestly, _sister_, do you hate me so much that you couldn't help me just once when I actually find my mate? This isn't about singers or infatuations! _Don't look at me like that!_ I love him…I really do…it will break my heart to lose him. Now I'm just going to have to stand back and watch him walk right out of my life! Well, hell, he'll probably _run_ considering the fact that he just came face-to-face with blood soaked _vampires_! God damn it, Alice!"

My mind tried to process everything at once, she said vampires…mate…she _loves_ me! Before I could settle on any one thought for very long, Alice's tinkling laugh cut through the fog in my brain.

"Bella, watch what you say. Honey, he's coming around and there's no doubt in my mind about him being aware of your rant. Don't hate me. You might be surprised where this goes from here."

Well, damn. My cover was blown…time to face the music.

I blinked my eyes carefully and sat up as slowly as I could, unable to ignore the pounding in my head.

As I sat up the rest of the way, I was face to face with a very happy Alice. In her excitement, she was all but vibrating. She held both hands out to me. One had a bottle of chilled water the other had two Tylenol.

I gratefully accepted the pills and washed them down quickly before turning a somewhat bemused glare on Bella.

"Raynaud's disease? Really Bella? You talked a _really_ good game about wanting to be best friends, but before we even get started, you _lie_ to me. Did you not hear me when I told you that Amber lied to me shortly before I lost her? I can forgive a lot of things, Bella, but lying will take some time to forgive."

She arched an eyebrow at me, "And what would you have said if I told you the truth? 'Sorry for the cold skin, Edward, but my family and I, we're vampires. But don't worry. We won't _eat_ you…we're vegetarians. We only drink from animals. So, now that we have that little stumbling block out of the way, I think I should tell you that I have waited my entire afterlife for you. You're my mate and key to a blissful existence. Now that all the truth is out of the way, let's make out.'?"

I laughed at the ridiculousness of the situation before leveling my eyes on her, my vampire _mate_…whatever the hell that was supposed to mean…and smiled at her earning a returned toothy grin, "Well, I probably would have called the nearest psychiatric hospital to see if they had room for you…so point well taken. But, seriously, I'm not one of these asshole guys out there who will say or do _anything_ to be with you. I have seen so much in my few short years that I am very mature. I believe in mature relationships…screw this high school bullshit. If we're meant to be, it will happen…never doubt that. Now on to a very serious discussion."

The look on her face made me laugh again at how serious she was taking this. She looked like she would have been white as a sheet if she had actually had some color to her skin.

_Seriously, I don't know why she's concerned. My mother is a fucking tarot card reader! A damned mystic! We always suspected that there was more to this world than we were completely aware of. She just confirmed my suspicions. She acts like I'm going to plug my ears and run away, singing songs at the top of my lungs…but in truth, I'm completely jazzed. Actually, I believe this puts a whole new spin on 'My girlfriend can beat up your girlfriend'...more like 'My girlfriend can __**eat**__ your girlfriend'. __**Great, now a whole new slew of horny male fantasies are invading my head…**_

"Well, semi-serious," I chuckled, "Since you all are vampires, does that mean that you don't have any food in the house? Because I'm really hungry…apparently hitting my head and having an information overload makes me famished."

Bella and Alice shared comical incredulous looks before bursting out into fits of giggles before Alice linked elbows with Bella and sang, "Time to feed the human!"

I followed with a satisfied smirk on my face until I entered the **massive** kitchen where Rosalie, Emmett and Jasper were standing.

Emmett winked at me before going over to Bella, mock punching her on the shoulder and saying, "So…Bells is a cougar? That's _hot_!"

I choked back a laugh as Bella waved her hand at Rosalie who promptly smacked Emmett in the back of the head.

He exclaimed through deep laughs, "**What?** It IS hot! It's like The Graduate, except she's in his class rather than teaching it!"

I rolled my eyes knowing that I'd finally found my place in the world and feeling optimistic about my future for the first time in a very long time.

**A/N: Don't forget to press the little button down there and leave some love. I absolutely adore when I get a new email saying that someone has taken a few minutes of their day to brighten mine up. : )**

**See you next week!**


	6. I'm Only Getting Started

**A/N: Happy Friday everyone! Today, you're going to get a little peek into Bella's background and the beginning of the rest will be starting in the next chapter, which I am proud as hell to say is almost complete and ready to be sent to my amazing beta, Dil9.**

**Speaking of my beautiful beta, go check her stories out and leave her some love…all of her stories are ALMOST as awesome as her. Her Edward is as close to SM's Edward that I've ever really seen…it makes me giddy when she updates… : )**

**I hope you like where the story is going and enjoy the journey.**

**See the bottom A/N for a special incentive.**

Edward's POV

We all sat around the dining room table staring at each other. Sometimes Emmett would break the silence with something completely rude; but as I was beginning to understand, that was just Emmett. That being said, it sucks that I'm the only one that can blush at the table…even though I'm certain that I had enough blood in my face for everyone present.

"So, Eddie boy," Emmett said winking at me, "assuming that you're not still a virgin, have you ever stuck it in a block of ice?"

I know my eyes must have bugged out of my head as I began to choke on the water that I just took a sip of. Bella's face was full of pure anger and I was surprised that she didn't have to say anything to Rosalie this time because no sooner I began to cough; she smacked him so hard in the head that it sounded like a minor explosive blast to my human ears.

"Emmett," Rosalie reprimanded, her voice full of anger, "Don't be crude. I'm the only one you can talk dirty like that to."

Before he could say anything, she was out of the chair and across the room.

"Babe!" he whined, "You're taking all of my fun away! How many times will I get to make Eddie boy blush before he loses the ability to? Plus, he's my new brother – it's like my God given right to torture him!"

"Emmett," I warned, "no one, I repeat _no one_ calls me Eddie. I don't care what you say to me, but _please_ don't ever call me Eddie again. And please refrain from upsetting my girlfriend…it upsets me and just remember that although _I _can't kick your ass, Rosalie _can_…I'm pretty sure she'd do it just as a favor to me."

Emmett looked at me like he was getting a wild idea but was quickly stopped by one ball-shriveling glare from Rosalie.

"_Babe_!" Emmett griped, "You can't let him do this to me! I _joke_. It's what I _do_! If it wasn't for my _stellar_ sense of humor I wouldn't have a purpose here!"

I rolled my eyes and reached over tentatively to Bella's lap to where her hands were folded. Gently, I grabbed her hand and marveled in the smoothness of her skin.

My eyes left Emmett to peek at Bella's face. Imagine my shock when she was smiling tentatively at our clasped hands. It seemed like the simple joy of holding hands was as pleasing to her as it was to me.

Carlisle took that moment to assert his authority over the family, "Okay, so Bella has mated with a human..."

He looked around the table at the rest of the vampires, "Obviously, Edward is not to be harmed. He has unknowingly become a part of the family…and we protect our family. Now, if no one has anything they want to add, I just wanted to take a moment to say 'Welcome to the family, Edward'."

His eyes - along with everyone else's - turned to me and I fought back a blush at having everyone's attention directed at me.

"W… – well, thank you everyone for the hearty welcome!" I stammered out, mortified that I was in the company of several beautiful immortals and could not form a coherent sentence, "Although I'm still very confused, I look forward to spending more time with and getting to know all of you."

Bella squeezed my hand and fluidly stood from her chair, effectively pulling me with her.

"Now that we've had the family meeting, I'd like to spend some time with my mate."

I walked beside her up the stairs to her room still holding her hand firmly.

When we reached the door to her room she turned to face me and smiled. I tentatively returned the smile, suddenly shy.

I had gone from suicidal loner to the boyfriend…um, _mate_ of the most beautiful girl in school…who just so happens to be a vampire.

"Bella," I started, my voice huskier than I hoped it would be, "can I…"

I didn't even get to finish my question as her ice cold lips gently pressed to mine.

I returned the kiss, suddenly not able to get close enough to her.

_God, I feel like such a girl…_

The kiss deepened, it seemed, with no consciousness from either of us and I fought to keep myself upright. My knees began to get weak and my brain became fuzzy. I didn't fully understand why until I opened my eyes and looked into Bella's amused ones.

"Edward," she murmured, "as much as I like kissing you, it's only going to work out for us _if_ you remember to breathe. I can't have my man swooning and passing out every time I kiss him."

I laughed unsteadily, trying to get my lungs to work properly. I couldn't shake the memory of her lips on mine…her tongue caressing mine seductively.

My vision kept getting whiter and whiter until I found myself sitting on the carpet with my back against her door with her kneeling in front of me – a worried expression on her face.

"Edward," her voice a panicked whisper, "Can you hear me okay? Do you need to lie down?"

"_NO_!" I shouted and was standing in a flash, only to regret the action immediately as the floor began to tilt again.

Her hands grabbed my biceps to steady me and she led me right through the door.

Sitting on her bed gingerly, I put my head between my knees and began breathing deeply.

She sat next to me and rubbed soothing circles on my back for a while before finally breaking the ice, "Would you like to hear about my life before you while you calm down?"

I didn't trust myself to speak at the moment so I just nodded my head.

Looking back on it now, I realize that my reactions went completely against the grain as far as normal people.

"Okay," she said, her voice a peaceful murmur in my ear, "well, for starters, I was born in 1887 near Volterra, Italy."

"So you're nearly…"

"Yes, Edward," she giggled, "I'm nearly 125 years old."

…

And that was the third time today that I passed out at Bella's house.

**A/N: It seems that our lovely human Edward has some issues keeping upright when in Bella's presence…*giggle*…I love a guy who can swoon, lol.**

**Anyways, this incentive that I mentioned at the top: This story is sitting at 26 reviews right now. I would like to try something and see how it goes…if I can incite some excitement here. The 50****th**** reviewer will get a one-shot of their choice (pairings, situation, storyline…) that will be uploaded to The Challenge. I will be doing this for this story for starters for every 50****th**** reviewer…so show me some love and I will show it in return. : )**

**Thank you all so much for taking the time to read my story and for those of you who have reviewed, favorited and alerted…ya'll rock my world in ways that are probably illegal. ; )**

**See you next Friday!**


	7. Telling A Story

**A/N: So, all the thanks for this early chapter should go to Dil9, my amazing Beta. She cranked this through her awesome brain machine…so go check her out and leave her stories some love – she most definitely deserves it.**

**I'm posting this a day early not only because it's ready and I don't like to hold onto stuff like this for very long, but because I'm anxious to get to chapter 8…I hope you all like it. Chapter 8 **_**is**_** where the M rating really kicks in, so anyone under 18, you probably shouldn't read any further than this chapter.**

**My bribe…*clears throat*…I mean **_**incentive**_** still stands. The reviewer that brings me my 50****th**** review will get the one-shot of their choice that I will not only send to them via email, it will also be posted in my "story" The Challenge.**

**Read and review…it's like a drug to me. ; )**

Edward POV

As I came to _again_, I was expecting to see the entire family huddled around my consciousness-deficient ass, but was pleasantly surprised to see that only Bella's worried eyes were looking at me.

Not a single other person was in the room with us.

_Thank God. It's hard enough to be unable to stay conscious around my super hot girlfriend, but to have her family pay witness to it repeatedly is unbearable._

"Edward," Bella said slowly, "I understand that you have been given a lot of information to digest today and if you want to wait a little while to get adjusted to everything you've heard. I'm concerned about the continual passing out. Maybe you ought to go home and sleep on it all?"

I shook my head fiercely cutting off any room for her to argue, "No. I want to hear about you. I want to know _all_ there is to know about you. I _crave_ this information. Can we just chalk it up to me being a complete moron?"

I gave her my best smile and prayed she wouldn't quit talking. I really did ache to know all about her. I wanted to know how she ended up the way she is.

"I wouldn't say that you're a moron…" she chuckled, "I would just say that your overloaded brain is having issues keeping up with everything."

I nodded slightly, wanting more than anything to have her continue her story.

She winked at me before speaking, "Well, now that it looks like you're _fully_ coherent, I will go on with my story. As I said, I was born in Volterra, Italy back in 1887. My parents were about what Americans consider upper-middle class. My father ran his own jewelry shop right on the main road in our town. For as long as they kept written records there had been tales of blood drinking demons roaming the city freely at night, killing the old and changing the young. The whole city had officially adopted an apathetic attitude about it, citing that _if_ the legends were true, that it was just helping control the population and taking care of any vagrants…as well as keeping people in line after dark. For as long as the collective town memory went back, there had never been a problem with rowdy, drunk people. This is because we were a very superstitious group of people."

"I distinctly remember walking home that evening from my father's shop. It was overcast…felt like rain. People were already in their homes for the night. Our townsfolk never much liked being out when it looked like wet weather. I had taken my dad some roast, vegetables grown in our garden and homemade bread because he was working on some customized jewelry for the royal family in Volterra. They were known for being uncommonly kind to those who were not of the royal bloodline."

Her voice turned soft as a smile graced her lips.

"I always kept to the main road, but this one evening, I decided to take a shortcut to condense my journey home. I was about a half an hour away from the house when I was stopped by one lady who was waiting impatiently for my father to restore a family heirloom. He had already explained to her that it was going to take some time to finish it because of the order he had received from the castle. She _knew_ that the other order took precedence over hers, yet she _still_ harassed my father once every other couple of days about an estimate on when it would be complete. I was reaching the end of my patience with her…it's one thing to worry the hell out of my father over an order – it's entirely something else to begin to ask me about it. 'Girl,' she called out to me as I passed, 'has your father completed my order? I'm bereft without it. What will I wear to the soiree on the seventeenth?' To say I was _beyond_ livid would be an understatement. I remember telling her something to the effect of, 'It doesn't matter what you wear – you'll continue to look fat anyway.' before I walked away feeling…accomplished. I had waited years to tell that old cow what I thought of her and she had just given me that opportunity. She stood out on her front stoop yelling at me at the top of her lungs until I was out of sight."

She paused for only a moment to make sure I was still listening to her and smiled the largest smile I had ever seen on her before her face settled into a blank mask, her voice taking on an ominous tone.

"I hadn't noticed that it had gotten completely dark until the wind picked up. I was dressed for warm weather…so the sudden wind chilled me to the bone. The road began its steep ascent up the hill on which my house sat upon and I was so close I could smell the scent of fresh baked bread on the air. I never made it to the cobblestones that made up the walkway to our front door. A large, beautiful man came up behind me and clasped his hands over my mouth before dragging me to the forest across the road from my family's property."

"I fought against him but with my disadvantage in size, I couldn't fight him off. Knowing what I do now, it wouldn't have made a difference. He was as hard as granite and as cold as the snow that fell in the winter. He was a vampire. 'Isabella,' he said in perfect Italian, 'I have been watching you for a long time…biding my time until you came of age. What a beautiful young woman you have turned into…an excellent specimen to be made into my wife.' He never said I was his mate, just that he coveted me as his wife for some time so he reached out and took me."

She stopped again and smiled tentatively, making sure that I was okay with where the story was heading. I nodded assuredly to her although my insides felt like they were boiling on an open flame.

"He took me to the castle in Volterra, right through the front gate and around to a side door where he carried me in over his shoulder as if I was nothing more than a sack of flour. After walking all over the castle, we went down several stairwells which led us deep into the ground. A few more minutes of walking down dank corridors led us to what apparently was his room. I had my human life stolen from me in that very room. He drank from me until I had almost bled out before he pushed his venom into my veins. He promised me that it would make the transition faster, which in turn, would shorten my torture."

My eyes never left hers as her voice grew very serious and her eyes became apologetic.

"I won't lie to you, Edward. Becoming a vampire is a _very_ serious situation. When the time comes, _if_ you choose to end your human life and stay with me throughout this life, it _will_ hurt. The only thing I can akin it to would be being tied to a stake and set on fire. The fire will rage through your body for the better part of three days devouring your blood and destroying your soft tissues. During these three days you will feel like you're losing your mind. You will be in inconceivable amounts of pain with nothing to ease it. You can scream, thrash…do anything you please, but none of that will alleviate your suffering. Do you understand what I'm telling you?"

I swallowed audibly before nodding at her, "If it means getting to spend all of eternity with you by my side, I will endure it as gracefully as I'm able to."

Her answering smile was stunning, "Don't be so quick to jump to the decision…take your time, Edward…think it over. Once it's done, it cannot be undone. Just keep that in mind. Also, after your transformation, you will never be able to see anyone you know _ever_ again. The danger to them would be too great. This includes your family…your mother…your father. Would you be so willing to abandon them to be turned into a monster…a villain in a horror movie? Not many of the myths about our kind are correct, but one is above all else: for the first part of our afterlife, the main thing we crave is blood. Other desires will try to make their way to the top of the list, but _none_ will be able to compete with the bloodlust. Okay. Well that is enough for tonight. I will begin to fill you in on the rest tomorrow…but your father's cruiser is coming down our driveway right now and I'm sure he'll be wanting to get home very soon. It seems he's had a rough day – he's cussing up a storm right now."

She smiled and cupped a hand around her ears before giggling, "Super hearing _is_ a perk of eternal bloodlust."

I returned her smile and grabbed her hand in my own before standing from the bed. She stood with me; we made our way to the door of the room and down the stairs just as my father got to the door to knock.

She opened the door as he raised his hand to the golden crest on which the door knocker rested. The look of surprise on his face was priceless – I wish I'd had a camera on me.

"Well, it looks like you two have made fast friends with each other," he said, all the while his eyes were trained on our clasped hands.

"We have Biology together, Charlie," I admonished with a frown, "but I just asked Bella to be my girlfriend today, so yes, we are _much_ closer than what we were before today."

I hoped that I was giving him enough of a warning so that he would leave well enough alone for right now.

We lapsed into an uncomfortable silence as my father and I eyeballed each other speculatively. Neither of us wanted to be the first to speak.

Bella took the opportunity to talk to Charlie, "Chief Swan, Edward is an amazing young man…er…guy. You've raised him really well – you should be proud. I've had my eye on him ever since he first came to the school so it would be an understatement if I said that he's made me incredibly happy today by asking me out. I just hope that you can find it in you to like me. I have a perfect record – not even a speeding ticket. It's very important to me that we get along."

Charlie rubbed the back of his neck bashfully before replying, "Well, Miss Cullen, as long as my son is happy, that's all I can really ask for."

It was all he said, obviously uncomfortable with having to talk about something other than sports – a safe conversation if ever there was one.

He quickly turned on his heel and walked away before anything else was said.

I faced Bella and leaned in to kiss her lips chastely but as my lips grazed hers, my father blared the horn, causing me to jump in surprise and smack my face into Bella's. Thankfully, I couldn't hurt her…although it didn't ease the sting that was now residing in the midpoint of my nose.

I gingerly touched my nose, immediately touching something warm and wet. I looked up, somewhat alarmed, into Bella's now-black gaze that was locked onto the blood slowly dripping from my nose.

"Jesus, babe," I murmured apologetically, "I'm really sorry. I'm gonna go now. I will see you tomorrow?"

She nodded harshly before choking out, "Go take care of your nose, Edward. I'm sorry, but I need you to leave…I can't handle the blood right now. I'll be at school tomorrow. I'll see you then, I love you."

Before I could even register what she had said, she shut the door in my face and I found myself jogging back to the cruiser in shock.

I didn't talk to my dad the entire ride home – it was his fault I made my girlfriend uncomfortable.

When we pulled up to the house, in typical teenage fashion, I slammed the door to the cruiser and flew up the stairs to my room before slamming the door.

I flung myself on my bed and drifted quickly to sleep where my dreams were hounded by dark figures and long shadows.


	8. Well That's Not Embarrassing At All

**A/N: Oh lookie…another update! ; ) Thank you so very much to those of ya'll who have favorited, alerted and reviewed! This update is dedicated to my superawesome beta, Dil9…she makes sure that ya'll aren't reading a bunch of ADHD redneck mumblings, lol. Go check her stories out – she is an inspiration to me.**

**I hope everyone enjoys this update – it's been my favorite to write…so far.**

_**WARNING**_** – This chapter is where the M rating will begin to seriously be used…so under 18 and those who are easily upset by things of a sexual nature. Actually, if you're easily upset by those things, why are you reading this in the first place? Lol, you must not have read any of my other stories…seriously. All joking aside, there will be sexy stuff, so if you aren't into that kinda thing, I suggest this is where you stop reading.**

**Read and review – we're getting closer to someone getting their own one-shot. Just remember though, it will have to be a **_**signed**_** review so that I can contact you about what you want in the one-shot.**

**Happy weekend ya'll.**

Edward POV

When my alarm went off this morning I couldn't help but bound from the bed.

I completed all of my morning tasks with a spring in my step. I wanted to get to school as early as I can so that I could see my beautiful girlfriend.

_Your beautiful girlfriend who just so happens to be a vampire…_

I sat down on the bed with a huff, my mind going to Emmett's comment.

"_Have you ever stuck it in a block of ice?"_

Surely being intimate with Bella wouldn't feel like that, would it?

I flew down the stairs and into the kitchen where I stood at the freezer for several long moments before I threw caution to the wind and grabbed a couple ice cubes from their tray.

I let the cubes sit in my hand for a few seconds…mulling over what I was about to do when I realized that I didn't hear any noises from inside the house.

Realizing that Charlie might have been called in to work, which left me in a predicament as far as how to get to school, I figured _what the hell_ and lowered my zipper.

I adjusted the cubes so that they would conform to my shape and gently placed my hand around my hardening member.

The initial shock of the cold made me jump but I soon found that although it was extremely cold, it was also highly arousing.

I turned to face the island in the middle of the kitchen and used it to brace my weight with the other hand. Imagining Bella clenched around my length, I stroked with earnest – finding that I would not last as long as was normal for me.

I couldn't stop the noises that were escaping my mouth, everything felt so intense. The pressure that I had building up was nearing its breaking point.

"Oh, Bella," I moaned huskily, "baby, I'm gonna come. God, you feel so good…so tight…"

Just as I blew my load all over the island, I heard my dad's startled voice behind me, "_Jesus Christ, Edward!_"

In my haste I didn't even think to pull up my pants…so I just spun around to be face-to-face-to-face with my dad…and Bella…with my now soft cock hanging from the gaping hole in the front of my jeans.

My face ignited in a way that I knew I probably looked sunburned. I was beyond mortified…so I did the only thing I could do – I held the front of my jeans together and fled to my room for the _second_ time in twenty-four hours.

I had only been lying face down on my bed for a few moments when I heard my door creak open.

"Edward," my father's obviously uncomfortable voice said, "Um, okay. While I will _pretend_ I didn't see you…having some _alone_ time in the kitchen…I will say…fuck…I don't know how they…um…do things now, but I think they might sell numbing lotion for…oh hell…problems with…you know…premature ejaculation. I'd rather you…do what you were doing…than get Bella pregnant…so I'm proud that you're…taking matters into your own hands…so to speak. If you want…I could go to the drugstore and buy you…you know…some of that…stuff."

I rolled my head to where I could look at Charlie straight in the face, "Are you fucking serious, Charlie? Out of _all_ the things you could have taken from what just happened downstairs, you latched onto and ran with the _early delivery_? And you brought Bella in here? Are you insane?"

He had gone from rubbing the back of his neck to covering his eyes with both hands, "Well Edward, in case you haven't noticed this _is_ my house. I shouldn't have to knock every time I want to go into the kitchen. Like I said a little while ago, I applaud your choice of sexual activity…so you're not in trouble. I was bringing in Bella so that she could give you a ride to school. I was called in on another traffic accident and I called her so that you wouldn't be stranded. Actually, if you want to finish this conversation, it will have to wait until later because I should have been to the scene about fifteen minutes ago."

I shook my head hoping that he understood that there would be no talk later – I wanted this shit _forgotten_.

He patted my back before leaving the house in a hurry, turning the cruiser lights and siren on to make sure that he would have no problem getting there.

I buried my head in my pillow and growled at the fact that not only had my father caught me masturbating, my girlfriend had been there to catch me in the act as well.

Instantaneously, I felt the gentle touch of a cold hand on my back.

"Edward," her soft, melodic voice was soothing to me, "I'm really sorry that we walked in on you. If I had known what was going on, I would have stalled him, made a noise or something. I was trying so hard to listen to him ramble about fishing that I didn't even hear you until we were in the room."

This new bit of information brought the blush back to my face and I buried my head further into the pillow.

Suddenly, I felt her cool breath on my ear, "Don't be embarrassed – I'm actually really turned on right now."

I sat up on my knees and looked at her incredulously, "Bella, you don't have to lie to make me feel better. I understand that what I did was rather heinous and I hope that you'll never have to deal with the horny teenager that you've fallen for. Normally, I conduct myself better than that in front of a lady."

She snorted a very unladylike snort before bringing her face so close to mine that our lips rubbed lightly as she talked, "I wasn't lying, Edward. The idea of you bringing yourself to release…hopefully thinking about me…well, let's just say; I may need a _private moment_ before we leave."

She winked at me as she got up from the bed and sashayed her way down the hall, swinging her hips causing me to groan.

If she kept this shit up, it is very likely that we may never make it to school today.

Groaning, I flipped over in my bed and stared at the ceiling…praying for the strength to make it through the day.


	9. A Trek In The Woods

**A/N: Here's the next update thanks to the swift and awesome Dil9! I got this chapter to her later than usual, so I was VERY thankful that she was able to get it back to me in time to get it to you. Give thanks to her by checking out her story(ies) and leaving her some love.**

**In this chapter there's no really sexy times yet, but don't fret – they ARE coming. We are going to focus on more of Bella's back story, so just be patient with me, lol.**

**Make my day? Read and review – we're SO close to someone getting their own one-shot, I'm all trembly with anticipation. Remember, it has to be signed or send me a pm so that I can converse with you on who/what/where/when you want. : )**

**See you next Friday!**

Edward POV

The ride to school was mercifully short, although you wouldn't have known it from the humiliated blush staining my cheeks.

Thankfully, Bella didn't mention the fiasco from only moments ago. Leaving the house had been torture – she had walked out of the bathroom in my house looking delectably disheveled – I had to do some serious deep breathing to calm the images in my head.

As we got out of the Genesis, I was quick to race to her side – I wanted to see everyone's face when I walked in to the school with my girlfriend's hand clasped tightly in mine.

The glory was short-lived, however, when she grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the tree line. I looked around dubiously at the faces of my classmates…until I landed my gaze on the faces of my Bella's family. Their faces were all masks of amusement…even Rosalie. I could see Alice's lips moving, speaking to no one around her. I almost asked Bella about it until I heard her whisper, "It's okay, Alice – skipping school one day isn't going to shoot his GPA to shit. Calm the hell down."

_Where in the hell were we going? I could understand if she wanted to skip school to go somewhere off – campus, but to skip and go directly behind the school seemed like an afflicted decision…if you asked me._

"Bella," I spoke to her quietly, "If we're going to skip class for the day, wouldn't it be better if we went somewhere _other_ than the school grounds?"

She tipped her head back and laughed, "We _are_ skipping today, but I figured that we spend **way** too much time indoors. I was planning on taking you up to the hillside so that I could finish telling you my story. If you want to go somewhere else, we can. I just would like to enjoy the scenery while I get this part of my past out in the open…it's rather depressing."

My brilliant reply? "Oh."

We made our way up the trail in what seemed like record time. At one point, apparently, my human pace was beginning to wear on her patience - she grabbed me like a sack of flour, threw me over her shoulder and ran at speeds that were no doubt illegal.

I felt a bit odd riding on the shoulder of my girlfriend but I really loved it. The feeling of her back pressed against me brought our other emotions to my mind. I tried concentrating hard on the forest around us to try and control myself. I didn't want to embarrass her by pressing against her too intimately…or myself by dry humping her back. Fortunately or unfortunately it didn't take much to make me feel a bit dizzy which made me forget our close proximity.

Once we burst through the last of the branches into a clearing, she gently sat me on my feet – where I swayed precariously for several long moments before turning to Bella, giving her the most debonair grin I could manage…and began to violently throw up all over the bush next to me.

Bella was beside me in an instant, rubbing my back soothingly, "Edward? Maybe Alice _was _right. She told me that you'd be sick if you skipped today! Why didn't I listen? Do I need to take you back?"

As soon as I was confident that I wasn't going to pull a repeat performance, I straightened up and grabbed a piece of gum from my pocket, depositing it quickly in my mouth to get rid of the taste.

"Bella, I'm fine. Apparently, I get motion sickness when moving at speeds currently unheard of."

"I'm so sorry, Edward! I didn't even think that far into it – I just really wanted to tell you what was left to know about me. Do you need to sit?"

I laughed at her overly concerned nature, "Babe, I'm fine. Let's go find a comfortable spot to sit so that you can tell me more about yourself."

Smiling sheepishly, she took my hand and walked – at a _very_ slow human pace, I might add – to the center of the clearing, sitting on the cushioning, thick grass.

She took a deep breath and smiled at me, "So, where did I leave off at?"

I eyed her skeptically, "You have super-human hearing and can't remember where you left off at in your story?"

She smiled mischievously, "Oh, _I _remember, I just wanted to make sure that _you_ remembered. I didn't want to have to worry about you missing out on anything."

I rolled my eyes before replying, "Well, if that's the case, you're currently being turned into a vampire by the random douche that kidnapped you when you were walking home from taking your father food."

Her eyes lit up, "So you _were_ paying attention! That makes me feel better."

I laughed, "Not all guys are assholes with selective hearing, Bella."

"It's good to know that I found a one in a million type of guy. Anyways, I was burning alive in that room for about a day and a half. Like I said before, the change normally takes about 3 days, but apparently Demitri had done some experimentation on this. When I woke up, he was sitting by my bedside…holding my hand. I didn't know whether to be repulsed or attack him…thinking upon it now, I see that there was a little of both. That was the first time that Demitri lost a limb to me…and certainly not the last."

She smirked as if caught in a memory before continuing, "He explained to me what I was. Where I was. What had just happened. I was incensed. This asshole just plucked me right from my family, my future…_everything_. Then he tells me that I am expected to join the Volturi guard. The Volturi are _the_ Royal Family in Volterra. He told me that he was a tracker for them and that since I was to be his wife I would need to lend them my strengths. I told him that he was an imbecile and that he had a better chance of becoming the King of the Volturi before I _willingly_ aided my kidnapper. That was the **first **time that he locked me inside that room."

Her eyes darkened infinitesimally, "Not long after he left, he returned to me dragging a screaming human girl behind him. He threw her roughly at my feet and bellowed at me to feed from her. I spit in his face. The thirst was there in the forefront of my mind, begging me to kill the girl and sate my inner demon. I refused. He slit her throat and made me watch her bleed to death…all the while telling me that her death was on _my_ hands and that I should just embrace my vampiric nature. It was natural to sustain ourselves with human blood. He asked me if I felt bad as a human when I would eat a chicken or a cow. I argued with him for _weeks_ about it not being the same thing. He kept bringing me humans – eventually, he got so desperate for me to feed that he began to taunt me with them. He would have them whipped so cruelly that there was no way they'd ever recover from their beatings. I would end up ending their misery by snapping their necks before letting their lifeless bodies begin to pile up in a corner of the room."

Knowing that the story should make me squeamish, I blanched at the fact that in the moment, I felt nothing but pride for Bella. This woman was as strong as they came – she faced unthinkable odds for her convictions.

"The day I _finally_ snapped and fed was the longest day of my new life…figuratively speaking, of course. I had been stuck in that hell hole of a room for exactly 108 days without a single thing to nourish myself with. I was quickly becoming resigned. I swore to Demitri that I would feed _if_ he took me outside. I would snatch a vagrant and take my lunch to go – if you will. I don't know _how_ I made it through the courtyard, but I made it to the outskirts before I became frantic. The first time I took a breath, I inhaled the most luscious scent I had ever encountered. It smelt better than _any_ of the humans that Demitri had brought in. Without any conscious thought on my behalf, I took off after the scent and had sated myself before comprehending what it was that I had killed. Imagine my amazement when I looked down to see the dead eyes of a large brown bear! Demitri was so repulsed by my actions that he refused to let me anywhere near the castle until I washed myself in a nearby stream!"

Her twittering laugh echoed in the clearing and her eyes glittered in excitement, "I have _never_ tasted the blood of a human! The smell disgusts me. The closest thing I can parallel it to for you would be a skunk. The smell of human blood just repels me. The Volturi Guard was not happy with that new outcome. I had heard them speak of a very old, strange vampire named Carlisle who rebutted human blood but thought of him as one would a myth. I had only ever encountered vampires with red eyes and here they were talking of one with golden eyes."

"I thought them all fools until a few feedings later. I was sitting in my room pondering my parents and how they were taking my disappearance. I had gotten up from my bench seat and was pacing a long furrow in the hard marble of the floor when I passed by a mirror hanging on the wall. I really hadn't paid any attention to my reflection once I became a vampire, so saying I was shocked at my appearance would have been a gross understatement. Demitri had found me several hours later still standing in front of the mirror – _glued_ to the golden eyes in the mirror."

"I had begged with Demitri over and over again for him to let me leave. Ours was a loveless marriage – we only ever consummated it once…_the absolute worst night of my existence_…so he finally gave in after pleading with him _daily_ for twelve years. I did some research on Carlisle and was pleased to find him with no true difficulty in England. His last remaining relative had just died and he needed to be close for the settlement of the estate. He had been wandering alone for _centuries_ when I met him. Honestly, we thought about the possibility that we were mates…being two out of only eight animal drinking vampires in the entire world. It only took us a few years to find that our assumption was terribly wrong. He met Esme and his world shifted…he waited patiently through her brief human life until he could properly mate her."

"I always felt like an outsider – _no_ part of my immortal existence was normal. I didn't crave human blood, I desperately did not want to be a part of the Volturi, my ability didn't decide to make itself known until _years_ after Carlisle and Esme got married _and_ I still had yet to find a mate. Of course, _unbeknownst to me_, you hadn't been born yet."

She smiled at me tenderly, "When you first stepped foot in that school, I didn't even know you. I had heard stories of the Chief's son but didn't understand the appeal you had to the rest of the people at school until I saw you for the very first time. Edward, we vampires are frozen at whatever age we are changed at, never progressing…_never_ moving forward. When I saw you for the first time, my entire world just…stopped. I felt so foolish being the only unmated vampire in our family…then finding someone that affected me the way you do…Jesus, I was so confused. Edward…"

Her voice caught with emotion and she looked deeply into my eyes, "I'm so glad you _finally_ walked into my life…"

I didn't wait to hear the rest of what she had to say – I crashed my lips to hers and pulled her backwards with me until we were lying in the grass.

_I guess skipping school __**can**__ be fun…_


	10. Poor Emmett

**A/N: Here's the next chapter…because it's done and I didn't want to wait to give you guys this little ray of **_**sunshine**_** before the inevitable shitstorm that is on the way. ; ) **

**Massive thanks to Dil9, my beautiful beta, who gets these things looking all pretty before sending them back to me in enough time that I can update on time – no matter what's going on. Love you chicka!**

**Congratulations to ggb-luma who won the 50****th**** review one-shot! I will continue to offer a one-shot to anyone whose review lands in the multiples of 50. So, the next one-shot will be gifted to the 100****th**** reviewer.**

**Read and review? I love hearing what ya'll have to say. : )**

**Edward POV**

After only being in the meadow for a few short hours, Bella took me back to the parking lot where we got in her car and drove to the Cullen house.

We had just gotten in the door and I heard a loud, high-pitched scream, "God dammit Emmett! If you don't turn that _Call Me Maybe_ shit off right now, I swear to God that I will kill your fucking IPod! You've had it on repeat for so long I doubt that your IPod even remembers how to play anything else! No! Don't you fucking _dare_ turn it up! Emmett, I swear…I will have Jasper rip your dick off and hide it – you will _**NEVER**_ get any _ever_ again!"

My mouth hung open as I turned to stare at Bella. I had heard them swear before, but I had never heard them actually fight like siblings…it was definitely an experience that I could see myself participating in…in the future.

"She's right, Emmett," Jasper's unmistakable drawl sounded from the den downstairs, "I feel like I'm sprouting a vagina as we speak. Turn that shit off or I'll do one better than what Alice suggested – I'll take your dick _and_ make you listen to _every_ song Conway Twitty ever made…on _repeat_…for a fucking _**year**_! _**You know I'm capable, Emmett.**_ _Call Me Maybe_ goes right this second or I will uphold my previous threats _plus_ I will add unmanageable lust for the duration as well. Imagine it, Em – you will be horny enough to stick your dick in a blender for some relief and won't be able to rid yourself of the riotous lust roiling through your body no matter what you do."

I stood chuckling as I heard the song stop dead in the middle and absolute silence reigned for uncountable seconds.

Bella giggled beside me, "I'm sad to say that this could quite _possibly_ be my fault. I made a remix of it for Emmett. What I didn't count on was that he'd like it _**so**_ much that he'd put it on repeat for the next few months. I can actually say that I'm so sick of it, I'm completely prepared to have someone hold him down while I wipe that song from every electronic device in the house…including in my studio. The next time I make a song for him, I'm going to have to sit and imagine listening to the song on a never-ending cycle for months at a time to see if I would be able to handle it."

"He can't be _that_ bad, can he?" I asked, cocking my head to the side.

"When Emmett gets on a roll about something – it's like telling a child with ADHD who's just had an eight ball of cocaine and a gallon of Red Bull to sit still and be quiet. He can be damn near unstoppable. When Britney Spears first came out, we were _all_ into her music…until Em decided to get on a particularly nasty Britney kick. We heard _Sometimes_ nonstop for six months before Rosalie made the damn cd disappear. Em was heartbroken…us…not so much. I think we may have started the very first ever Britney Spears hate-club. Everything Spears related was banned from the house…Alice _still_ goes into fits of rage when anyone mentions her."

From upstairs, I heard crashing and Alice growl before hearing glass shatter. I turned around just in time to see glass rain down onto the front yard followed swiftly by a large armoire which exploded upon impact, scattering designer clothing all over the front yard.

Bella looked at me with a smirk on her face, "See?"

I looked in amazement as some clothes fell delicately like giant snowflakes.

"Remind me to _never_ mention **that** name within earshot of her," I chuckled seriously, "As much fun as I've had so far, I'd really like to go sit down with you and maybe…finish what we started in the meadow?"

Bella smiled at me, grabbed my hand and led me up the stairs to her room.

Just after we got inside her room, a thought struck me, "What are they doing here? I know that we skipped, but school is still in session…did they skip too?"

Bella laughed lightly, "Well, Edward…today is supposed to get sunny, so Carlisle called the school and had my siblings excused. _Impromptu hiking trip was in order._ The cover story is that we go hiking and camping when it's sunny in Forks. Truthfully, we can't be outside in the sun."

She looked at me seriously out of the corner of her eye – gauging my reaction.

"Well, no shit." I stated, "I don't want my girlfriend or her family bursting into flames."

I stood shocked as she doubled over laughing. I didn't find this topic funny in the least.

"Edward," her laughter dying down to light giggles, "we don't burst into flames. We sparkle."

"Sparkle?"

"Like a fucking diamond…or a disco ball."

I sat down heavily on the bed trying my hardest to picture Emmett or Jasper sparkling outside in the sun. The closest thing I could get my mind to picture was either of them _covered_ in glitter.

Bella must have noticed the dumbfounded look on my face because she walked quickly to the window of her room and flung the curtains back, letting the sun have an unobstructed path to her marble skin.

"Look Edward," she said gently.

I raised my eyes to her and watched the sunlight pour into the room before refracting, fragmenting and bouncing off of her skin – casting sparkles all over the room.

I sucked an audible breath in through my teeth.

_Bella was even more gorgeous in the sunlight than when she wasn't._

After several long moments with no response from me than the one breath I took and then absolute stunned silence Bella stepped from the window, her head bowed – as if she were ashamed of something.

Seeing her look so sad was my undoing. I lifted her chin to tilt her face up to mine, "What's wrong baby?"

The look on her face was heartbreaking, "I understand if you think I'm freaky…we could move to somewhere there's no sun…or we could just never go out into the sunlight if you'd prefer."

Her voice was trembling and I was immediately annoyed at myself for not having a better reaction.

Before I could say a word, a streak that slightly resembled Alice flew by the door. Only after she was out of my sight, I caught her words on the air.

_Fix this, moron. She thinks you think she's ugly. Fix it _now!

Jesus. Women were _so_ insecure.

"Sweetheart," I said, my voice husky, "I don't think I've ever seen anything more beautiful that seeing you in the sun. I apologize for my crass silence…I was stunned. _You, Isabella Cullen, are stunning…in the sun…and out._"

She beamed a million watt smile at me and kissed my lips quickly.

I was being pulled down onto her bed with her…our lips connected in such a way that I never wanted us to be separated from each other. After deeply kissing for a few moments, I began to let my guard down the rest of the way.

Her hands began to explore the skin under my t-shirt and I found myself moaning at the sensations her hands were leaving in their wake.

"Oh," I moaned loudly when she lightly ran her nails down my chest, "God, Amber that feels so good…"

All movement stopped immediately, the look on Bella's face was completely unreadable. I took a few seconds to get my hormones under check and I thought back to what had stopped the touching.

"Edward," she said in a very small voice, "my name is Bella."

My shocked silence answered her as I realized that I had committed the biggest sin in a relationship…I had called Bella another girl's name…


	11. Curses And Gifts

**A/N: I know…I'm early again, but the rest of this week is going to be really jacked up for me, so I'd rather update early than late so here it is.**

**Many thanks to Dil9, my beautiful beta, who makes all of this pretty and listens to me whine when life sucks. Also, thanks to ggb-luma who also listens to me whine…a lot more than should be humanly possible…or even necessary.**

**Sad times ahead, folks…sad times…don't shoot me when you get to the bottom, please, lol. Don't forget the 100****th**** review one-shot is still up for grabs…your choice if you are the magical 100****th**** review. So, brighten my day and review? **

**: )**

**Edward POV**

I sat with my mouth hanging wide open for several moments replaying the previous moments in my mind…seeing it like a movie that you're watching – wanting so desperately to stop the main character from doing the dumb ass move that brings about the movie's turning point.

"Jesus…" I groaned, raking my fingers over my face, "Bella. I'm sorrier than I could ever adequately let you know without sounding stupid. I don't know what in the hell happened there for a moment. I swear…there are just days when all I can really hope for is a partial lobotomy."

I buried my head in my hands, refusing to move them until I no longer felt like I'd committed a cardinal sin.

For several long moments there was nothing but silence.

I finally made the move to look her in the face…she deserved that much. I felt like an even bigger fool when I saw how sad she looked.

"Bella," I started.

"Edward," she cut in, "I understand things like this happen…especially when it was someone you felt so strongly for. Do you miss her?"

I knew that if I lied right now, I would lose the second chance at happily ever after that I'd been so graciously given…but I really didn't want to see her face when I told her the truth.

I decided to stick with the truth, "I hate to admit it, but of course I do. I don't want to lie to you Bella. I miss her every day…this is going to make me sound like a girl but…there are still nights where I either cry myself to sleep or wake up with the shakes from a hideous nightmare…I'm beginning to love you, Bella…let's have no misunderstanding about that. If I could have my way about it, I'd love to go back in time and just stay friends with her. But then it brings me to the thought, 'If I had never dated her, she would have never done what she did, which would have made me more emotionally stable…and would I have ever met you if I hadn't tried to kill myself?' Bella, I cannot regret anything that brought me to you. I would like to not think about her so much, but I really don't know of anything that could do that for me."

She looked completely heartbroken for a moment before her eyes shone with mischief, "IF there was a way to not think about her so much, would you take it?"

I sat for a few seconds, an internal debate raging on inside of me, "If I knew it would give us the chance at happiness we deserve, I most definitely _would_."

She looked at her lap for a second, picking at a very small thread on her jeans, "I _can_ do that for you, Edward. That is my _gift_. I have the ability to remove or replace memories. Thankfully, I don't have to do it often. It can be kind of draining…it really depends on the person and how _attached_ they are to the memory. Just think carefully about this…because once it's done, it cannot be undone. If anyone brings Amber into a conversation with you, you will be confused and you could even possibly get angry if it keeps getting brought up. This is _not_ a decision to be taken lightly."

I sat back with the air leaving my lungs in a _whoosh_.

Could I really let Amber go so that I could give myself to Bella wholly?

I looked into Bella's eyes as I contemplated this – her eyes were guarded and I knew that she didn't want to say or do anything to sway my decision. She wanted _me_ to make this decision for the betterment of our relationship. She wanted me to not have any regrets about whatever decision I made about it.

"Bella," I said, my voice husky and breaking in spots, "I want to give myself to you as fully as I can. I obviously can't do that with her memory clinging to me like a monkey on my back."

I took a deep breath and tried to convey my seriousness about the situation with my eyes.

I steeled myself before I murmured the words to her, "I want to let her go – she would want me to be happy in my relationship with you. When can you do this?"

She smiled sadly before reaching for my hand, "I can do it this weekend. Emmett is on the phone right now with Charlie. You're going to stay the weekend…as in a sleepover with Emmett and Jasper. That will give you tonight to grieve your last for Amber. Come tomorrow night, the name Amber will have no effect on you."

I flung myself into her solid embrace, clinging to her for dear life – knowing that she was making a special offer…just so that I could finally have some peace.

A few hours later found me curled into a ball on my bed, sobbing for what I had thought was the _one_ true love of my life. I cried tears for all the time Amber and I spent together. I cried for each time we whispered each other's name in ecstasy. I cried for all of the kisses we shared, all of the secret declarations of love. I cried the hardest when I remembered that I had promised her at the very beginning of our relationship that there would be no other after her that I'd give my heart to.

I fell into a fitful sleep that night. I dreamt that I was standing in a room that had no doors but was surrounded by open windows on all sides. There were two large chaise lounge chairs covered in a light, breezy material in the middle of the room. In one of the chairs sat a beautiful girl with large, white wings in a billowing gown. As I approached her, I felt an uneasy trepidation come over me. I couldn't see her face until I sat down opposite of her.

Amber looked beautiful as an angel – something I had known since I first met her. Her smile was inspired.

"Edward," her melodic voice floated on the breeze, "I want you to be happy. I'm glad that Isabella found you when she did. As much as I've always wanted to be with you forever, I knew that it wasn't meant to be forever – just a season."

I opened my mouth to speak to her but she raised her hand to silence me, "If you speak, you _will_ wake up and the dream will be over. I need to say this to you before I fully move on – forget me, Edward. Let your relationship with Bella mature. _Love her_, Edward. Let her be there for you as even I couldn't. Make love to her knowing that you are with _the one_ person in your life God has chosen for you. All of our paths in life have been mapped out _long_ before we were born…I never saw it until after I had died, but my purpose in life was to bring you to her. I will always love you, never doubt that. You need to wake up now…she's waiting on you."

I looked at her confusedly for a moment before I could sense Bella's pure essence near my body that was lying calmly next to me on the bed. I could feel the thin layers of unconsciousness slip from my mind as I took one final look at Amber, who winked at me before disappearing from my view altogether.

I opened my eyes, swollen from all of the tears, looking directly into Bella's golden depths.

I raised my trembling hand to touch her face and as I caressed her perfect skin, she sighed, "I love you, Edward. So much more than you could ever believe."

I brought my face closer to hers and kissed her gently.

I knew at that very moment in time that even if I had not dreamt of Amber giving her approval, I was making the right decision.


	12. Baser Needs

**A/N: Give thanks to the almighty ggb-luma who persuaded me to update tonight instead of Friday. (She accepts cash, credit and debit cards, lol.)**

**Also give thanks to the superawesome beta extraordinaire Dil9 who makes sure that you're reading something of worth rather than my ramblings…although they **_**can**_** be entertaining at times. Go check out her trilogy…all 3 stories make me tingle.**

**In this chapter, we give ourselves over to our baser natures…so the M warning **_**does indeed**_** apply, so you know the drill.**

**Thank you so very, very much to those who continue to review! I love hearing what ya'll have to say…and it significantly brightens my mood. In addition to my reviewers, I would also like to thank those of ya'll who have alerted, favorited and followed me and my stories…I heart all of you so much!**

**Please review. I'm off for the next 2 days and would love something to start my work week off right. : )**

**Edward POV**

Our kiss heated up quickly, our hands exploring each other shamelessly. As much as I wanted to wait until I was sure that my actions with Bella were not a reaction to Amber, I wanted to give her this…letting her know that I wanted her…even with Amber still in my head. I desperately needed her to know that she would _always _be my choice.

In everything in life.

And all that comes afterwards.

I felt my heart swell in the knowledge that I would have far more than just one mere human lifetime with her. Even though I couldn't really wrap my mind around a forever that didn't end, I was more than willing to live it…as long as Bella was by my side.

I sucked in a shuddering breath that sounded ridiculously like a sob and pulled away from Bella's icy kiss, "Bella, my Bella," my breath fanned out over her face, "I want you to know this…before I don't remember _her_ anymore…I'm choosing you. I want you mind, body and soul. I want you _forever_, Bella."

I looked into her eyes, trying my damnedest to convey all of the truth I felt. This righteous truth inside of me felt like a balloon that had been filled relentlessly with air. If I didn't get this out, I'd burst.

"Tonight, I'm all yours…because I want _you_. I want you to know that because by this time tomorrow, I won't remember anyone but _you_. I've not had an easy life on my way to you so please don't abuse my heart or what I'm giving you tonight. I honestly don't think that you would abuse your power over me, but I needed to let you know how _completely_ you own me. No matter what this life brings us, Bella, I know that we're going to come out on top because we have each other. Now, I know I could never measure up to the sexual prowess of Demitri, but I will do everything I can to make you happy in every aspect of our relationship – regardless of my humanity."

Bella's face was frozen. A mask of undeniable love brightened her features.

She giggled before she spoke to me, her face so close to mine that our lips brushed, "Edward, I don't think there will be _any_ competition between you and Demitri. In all truth, I'm almost as inexperienced as you. I have had sex once…if you count Demitri seizing on top of me for a few short moments before collapsing on my chest. I've lived with three vampire couples who have _very_ healthy sexual appetites for almost a century, Edward…there are _so many _things I want to try with you. All I can really say is _please_ be patient with me. Vampires who have found their mates are extraordinarily…_insatiable_ for decades after the mating bond is in place. If you're ever not in the mood, don't give in just for my sake. I don't ever want you to put yourself in a situation because of my wants."

I chuckled for a moment before responding, "Silly, Bella, your wants are _always_ going to hold precedence over _everything_ in my life. If you are indeed mine, we will always want to fulfill each other's wants before our own. This whole conversation is pretty moot anyways considering that your wants and needs _are_ my wants and needs…plus, from what I understand, post pubescent guys are pretty insatiable themselves."

I wiggled my eyebrows at her knowing that she'd be able to see the movement, even in the dark.

_Oh hell! Why not go for broke!_

"Well, considering the little ahem incident with the…err ice…you already have proof of how much I want you love." I was sure my face was burning with embarrassment but I didn't want her to have any doubts about how much I wanted her in this way.

"I know." Bella whispered in my ear as she placed her cool hand on my face and gently rubbed the rough stubble before bringing her lips back to mine.

The kiss again started off slow but quickly gained momentum. My tongue lightly caressed hers and my mouth reveled in the sweet, fresh taste.

Her moan echoed in the back of my mouth and I found myself suddenly ravenous for more. My hands could not find purchase on any single part of her for longer than a few seconds at a time. I lingered on her curves…her hips…her breasts.

I wanted nothing more than to be an octopus…even eight arms didn't seem enough to touch all of the places on Bella that I wanted to get to know.

I broke our kiss for only a moment, rolling to the side to turn on my bedside lamp before returning my lips to their new favorite destination. My hands lingered on her face, trailing slow heat down her neck until I couldn't wait to taste more of her skin.

Her natural scent was of lilac flowers and fresh cotton…a scent I was instantly addicted to.

She allowed me to tilt her head to the side so that I could gain access to the whole of her neck. After kissing a trail down to her collarbone, I ran my tongue back up only stopping for a few short seconds to lay a well placed nip on her jaw.

Her head pushed further back into the pillows a low and breathy moan left her slightly parted lips.

Realizing that I was about to give myself fully to Bella, I wanted nothing more than to see all of her…now.

I knelt towards the foot of the bed and coaxed her to lean up to me. She did so obligingly, turning her limbs to jelly as to aid me in getting her clothes from her delectable body.

I removed her silky shirt slowly, allowing my hands to stroke her sides before moving on to her jeans. As I slid her jeans over her hips I placed a kiss on each hipbone, thigh, knee, calf and foot in tandem.

I couldn't help but to notice in satisfaction that her panties were damp…_I did that to her_.

I sat back on my haunches for a few moments admiring the contrast of her pink lingerie-clad body against the dark burgundy of my sheets. I admit, I was very impressed…and increasingly more horny.

I stood off the edge of the bed and removed my t shirt slowly, allowing her to view every part of me without the temptation of touching me. The worst was sliding my pajama bottoms off…I never wore boxers to bed…it was an unnecessary layer. Right now I was silently wishing for at least one more layer. I could only imagine what she was used to seeing on the body of a vampire male…I knew I could never begin to compare.

My nervous eyes met hers and I sucked in a breath through my teeth as I noticed her normally golden orbs were now a perfect shade of pitch black. The depths I now saw in her eyes were astronomical. For only a moment I entertained being afraid. I saw in her gaze, one of a fierce predator. Just as quickly as the fear popped up, it was replaced by lust and completely drained from my system.

Bella, sensing my discomfort, uttered, "Perfect…" in a breathy voice before sitting up fully on the bed and reached behind herself to unfasten her bra. My own breath caught in my throat as her flawless breasts were exposed to me.

I stood almost completely motionless as I watched her hips lift seductively from the mattress while she slid the silk panties over her perfect curves. I couldn't help the reaction from my lower region as I took in her faultless beauty.

My eyes greedily drank in her magnificence while she inspected me from her spot on my bed and I couldn't help but think how awesome she looked on my bed…she looked like she had always belonged there.

"Edward," Bella purred seductively while snuggling down on my comforter, "I'm naked, you're naked and I'm on this bed…all _alone_. Don't you see the unfairness of this situation?"

She didn't have to say another word as I scrambled frantically up the bed so that I was nestled in between her thighs, her scent making my head swim. She smelled more concentrated from my perspective and I loved it.

Not wanting this experience to be anything less than magical, I took my time touching every inch of her body…lingering on any places that made her moan or writhe on the bed. I memorized my favorite parts of her – the backside of her knee, the crook of her elbow, the hollow of her throat, both of her sides and the sensitive skin right behind her ear.

The sounds she was making was driving me to rub myself lightly on the sheets, desperately needing friction.

I finally reached the apex of her thighs and tenderly stroked the skin there, loving how she arched her back at the sudden stimulation. If she was going crazy for that, I couldn't wait to see her reactions to the rest of my ministrations. I parted her nether lips and rubbed slow circles for a moment before speeding up until I reached a frantic pace. Her cries became louder and as much as I loved them, I was painfully aware of Charlie asleep at the end of the hall.

"Bella," I said in hushed tones, "baby, I need you to be quiet. I love hearing what I do to you, but Charlie is still asleep and I don't want to have another sex discussion with him."

Her eyes got really wide for a moment before she winked at me, "Got it – not a peep."

I snickered quickly before getting right back in to rubbing Bella into a frenzy.

Needing a closer connection, I gently pushed a finger into her…and then another. To say that she was tight was an understatement. The idea of that being closed around me was mind blowing. I had to concentrate on something to calm my hormones down some.

_Think Edward! Dead puppies? Nope, didn't work. Baseball? Nope, still wanna cum. Um, Dr. Cullen giving me the sex talk? We're getting closer…I GOT IT! Eric Yorkie in a dress!_

Just like that I was good for continuing the foreplay.

It didn't take much more stimulation from me before she was clenching around my fingers and biting my pillow.

I continued to rub her more slowly with each pass to help her calm down while looking at the way her chest rose and fell with each deep breath. Finally, her contractions had subsided and she hastily swiped her hands through her hair to begin to tame the wild strands.

Honestly, I preferred the 'just had an orgasm' look on her…she was radiant.

"Edward, as nice as that was," her voice still rather husky, "I need you…inside me."

I tried to be suave but I know I looked like an amateur. I knelt between her legs and lined myself up with her entrance, shivering slightly at the temperature drop. Thankfully, the shivers only lasted a few seconds before I had flashes of my morning in the kitchen whiz through my head…and I got inexplicably hot.

I ran the head from her entrance up to her clit and back down. I made the circuit a few times before she lifted her hips. My tip slid into her just an inch and the delicious pressure was enough that I had to think of Yorkie again.

I found myself reciting every childhood rhyme in my head to slow down my progression.

When I was sufficiently calmed down, I pushed in as easy as I could…which still felt like I was taking forever. Building a pace wasn't difficult at all – Bella whispered in my ear how she wanted it.

All too soon we were rushing towards the finish line, our breathing heavy in each other's ears, my chest constricting with the effort I was exuding.

I knew I couldn't hold on much longer so I reached down to our joining and circled her clit a few times before she came around me, shuddering, clenching…perfection.

"Bella," I moaned quietly as I came, "I love you."

After the words left my lips, I half collapsed on her chest until my breathing could get under control. She embraced me, holding me close.

"As I love you, Edward," she murmured into my hair, "as I love you."

I felt myself ease into oblivion as I fell into a peaceful sleep for the rest of the evening.


	13. Reflections And Reassurances

**A/N: Thanks to Dil9 for the fabulous beta job…hope everything has calmed down for you at home, doll. If you aren't reading her stories, you most definitely need to go check them out now…well, not **_**right now**_**…after you get through reading and reviewing. ; )**

**Ggb-luma's one shot for The Challenge is done and will be posted as soon as it's beta'd. I love the way it turned out…and surprisingly, she loved it too. : )**

**I'm starting a new job on Wednesday of this upcoming week, so I'm really excited. I don't foresee it conflicting with my posting schedule in the least, so you guys will continue to have weekly updates. : )**

**This chapter has some mini-smut in it…hope you all enjoy…last chapter before the big erase.**

**Leave me some love?**

**Edward POV**

I awoke to small slivers of bright sunlight streaming through my curtain and into my eyes. I rubbed at the temporarily blinded orbs, feeling that they were still swollen from my night of crying…

_Last night!_

Last night I made love to Bella! I fell asleep on her chest…where _was_ she?

I sat up to look around the room but did not see my beautiful mate anywhere. Feeling a little let down, I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and sat there for a few moments, rubbing my hands through my hair.

Just as I stood up to go to the bathroom, my phone went off – a ringtone that I hadn't even had on my phone until this moment…

"_Turn the lights down low, take it off and show, my love for you insatiable, turn me on, never stop, wanna taste every drop, my love for you insatiable…"_

I smiled at the phone before picking it up – seeing a text from Bella.

**Okay, lover. It's time to rise and shine. Charlie is leaving you a note as you read this, letting you know that he's heading to the reservation to go fishing with Billy and that he will see you when you get back from your weekend with the boys. I will be there in fifteen minutes…go ahead and get dressed, sexy – I don't think we'll get much accomplished if you're still in the same state of undress that I left you in this morning. Love you always, Bella.**

I looked down at my body to see that I really _was _still naked. I scratched my chest absentmindedly as my mind lingered on our actions last night. All it took was a few seconds of remembering how it felt as her cold walls clamped down on my length and I was suddenly hyperaware of my now painful erection.

_Okay, I will quickly take care of this, jump in the shower and finish getting ready._

Hearing the cruiser start up and leave, I laid down on the bed. I reached into my nightstand where the lubricant was stashed from the first sex talk with Charlie. Pouring an ample amount in my palm, I remembered the pink of her nipples and the dewy look of her beautiful nether lips.

I smirked at the memory of the face and mewling noises she made as she came undone around me. I ran my hand up the length of my dick, swirling around the head before tightening my fingers and lowering my viselike grip…over and over until I came on my stomach in long spurts, murmuring Bella's name.

I took a few steadying breaths before climbing from the bed.

Grabbing my towel, boxers, jeans and t-shirt, I headed for the bathroom for a quick shower.

The water heated up quickly and I scrubbed myself vigorously, removing any remnants of my morning activities from my skin.

A few minutes later I was toweling myself off and throwing my clothes on when I heard a noise from inside my room. I crept quietly to the open doorway, my heartbeat thudding in my ears.

Shocked at the sight before my eyes, I dropped the towel to the floor – completely forgotten already.

Bella was lying face down on my bed, deeply breathing in my scent from my sheets. Her hands were fisted in the fabric and she looked lost in rapture.

I cleared my throat, quite loudly for even my ears, and chuckled when she shot up from my bed, a guilty expression on her face.

"Edward!" she said in surprise, "I didn't hear you come in!"

"That's because you were busy huffing my sheets. Can vampires get high?"

The guilt turned to mortification as she was quick to answer me, "I wasn't _huffing_, Edward. I was remembering what happened last night. The smell of our scents together were driving me insane. I can honestly say I understand now what my family means when they say that the scent of the sheets after their intimate encounters is their second favorite scent – only after the scent of our dinner."

"I was picking at you, love." I tried really hard not to laugh, but the situation was pretty fucked up, "Just let me get my things together for the weekend and I'll be ready to go."

She smiled for the first time since she got here and reached her arm over the other side of the bed and pulled a full duffle bag from the floor, "Already done. I hope you don't mind, but I picked out some clothes from your closet and dresser for this weekend. I _love_ the way those dark wash jeans look on you…so they're in there too."

She winked at my blush and sat down on my bed again, "Before we leave, I need to talk to you seriously for a moment."

At the sudden change in the atmosphere, I sat down beside her.

"Edward, I _need_ to know before we leave that you're certain that you want me to erase her from your memory. I know that I'll never measure up to her – she was in your life for so long…and even longer in your heart…I can't help feeling like I'm stealing something precious from you. I'm feeling a little self-conscious about this whole situation to be honest. For her to affect you as strongly as she did, she would have _had_ to be something amazing. I bet she was pretty – was she pretty?"

I met her gaze seriously, "You're prettier, babe."

"I know that you want me to feel better about this, Edward, but I need to know. Do you still have any pictures of her?"

"Just one," I replied as I reached past her to my nightstand where the only picture I still possessed of Amber resided. It _was_ the best picture she had ever taken – we were out in a national park in Phoenix. During our time out there, it had begun to rain. The picture in question was of Amber leaning up against one of the trees with the rain falling gently around her. She was smiling at me as if we had just shared some great secret. Her icy blue eyes twinkled in the sporadic sunlight.

She was radiant.

I turned the photo so that Bella could see it and watched her face carefully for any signs that she was overanalyzing the picture.

Her eyes shifted slowly over the picture, no doubt memorizing every detail. She looked on sadly as she ghosted her fingers over the photo.

"She was very beautiful," her melodic voice sounded so cheerless, "it's obvious why she is so hard for you to forget. I don't mean to sound doubtful of your feelings for me, but I mean she's gorgeous, she was so good for you…she was _human_, Edward. She could have given you babies…a future. You do know that I can _never_ give you children. I feel really bad about that. It's like I'm taking so much away from you…and you're not really getting anything in return."

I sat quietly, my mouth agape – I was hard pressed to believe that she'd be jealous of a human who wasn't even alive anymore…and that she didn't see herself in the same manner I saw her.

"Bella. Yes, she was beautiful – but your beauty eclipses all of that…you have inside of you the other half of me. Obviously, I was never meant to have children if _you're_ my mate…and it's not a sacrifice at all, really. I have never liked children…I know that sounds badly of me, but I can't help the truth. I'm not giving _anything_ up and I'm receiving _so much more_! I'm getting you for longer than one lifetime…or one **really** long lifetime if you want to look at it that way. Never doubt how incredibly rare you are…and how unbelievably lucky I am to have you in my life! You're all I could have ever wanted – _if_ I had even known what to ask for."

We sat in silence for long moments each trapped in our own thoughts. I wanted so badly for her to see exactly how precious to me she is…but only time could show her exactly how much.

"Well, beautiful," I asked with a smirk, "Are you ready to go? I'm ready for you to be the only woman in my head."

Bella smiled a slight smile before shrugging her shoulders, "Edward, you do know that you have to get rid of that picture, right? I'll take it with me to do away with if you'd like. Once I wipe your memory, the picture will only serve to confuse you."

I saw the logic behind her words and nodded solemnly, "Take it with you – it's of no use to me anymore."

She stuck the picture in my duffle bag and hefted it up on her shoulder before grabbing my hand.

"Well, come on then, sexy man. I have a memory to erase."

I left with her right then, wondering silently how my outlook on everything would change once Bella did her voodoo on my mind.


	14. Letting Go

**A/N: As always, thank you to my beautiful and amazing beta, Dil9. Her sweet words inspire me to write amazing things for ya'll. Even though some of ya'll don't like Edward letting go of his memories of Amber, just stick with me…it will all work out.**

**Hope you enjoy this early chapter! I just recently took a new job in the next big city from my house in a BIG promotion so I will still be updating every week, but it will be some day between Monday and Friday.**

**Help me celebrate…leave a review?**

**Edward POV**

I walked into the near silent house, wondering if everyone was there. I wasn't sure if I wanted the others there to witness the deliberate blanking out of my memory.

I tried to think around the memories of Amber, trying to see how my view on everything would change once she was gone…and was having a lot of difficulty. I knew that I was doing the right thing but I was concerned that she had been such an integral part of my life for so long that I would have giant parts of my conscious memory gone.

"Edward," Bella's apprehensive voice sounded from beside me, "are you okay? Jasper said he's feeling a lot of confusion from you."

"Um," I chuckled, "yeah. I'm trying to picture my life after the reformat, if you will. Will I lose many of my other memories too?"

She smiled a little before responding, "You won't lose any memories that don't involve Amber. But anything with her in it will be lost. I'm going to ask you one last time, Edward. _Are you one hundred percent positive about this?_"

I know I wasn't really answering her question, "I'm one hundred percent sure about you."

She cut her eyes to me in a look of pure concentration.

I grabbed her hand gently, "Can we just go ahead and do this?"

She nodded decisively, "Let's go. It's going to take a little while, but I guess it would be smart to go on and get it done."

We went into the den where she disappeared for a short moment before reappearing in front of me, "Sorry, I put your duffle bag in my room. Go ahead and make yourself comfortable."

"Is everyone going to be in here while you do that?"

"Not if you don't want them to be. I need Jasper in here with me so that he can keep you calm…he may just partly knock you out. He will do whatever he can to make this transition as easy for you as possible."

"I guess Jasper is okay to be in there…I just don't want it to be like everyone's in here waiting for me to do a trick or something," I explained while rubbing the back of my neck, a nervous habit I'd picked up from Charlie.

"They don't want you to be uncomfortable, so they will go for a hunt while we take care of you."

"Thanks everyone," I mumbled, knowing damned good and well that they could all hear me.

A chorus of "You're welcome" and "See you soon, Edward" came from the front hall before I heard an audible click as the front door shut.

Jasper walked in to the den, sitting in a straight backed chair next to the chaise lounge I assumed I was to lay on. He smiled easily at me, "Edward, I just want to say that you're a brave man – doin' this for your woman."

I laughed at his choice of words, "Jasper, man, there's nothing I won't do for Bella."

He nodded before replying, "Good. 'Cause I have no problem eatin' you if you hurt her."

I gulped noisily which brought a chuckle from both Bella and Jasper.

"Baby," Bella cooed from behind the head of the chaise, "Jasper is just playing the protective older brother. I don't think he'd _eat_ you, but he would be pissed. But this is all a pointless discussion seeing as how there's nothing you could do that would hurt me…aside from you leaving."

I shook my head viciously, "That will _never _happen."

I was ready to vow this to her above all else, "I will do everything in our extended lifetime to make you happy, love."

"Sit down, Edward."

Jasper was eyeing me speculatively as I approached the chaise – eyeing it as one would an electric chair right before the switch was thrown.

I flopped down unceremoniously and lay down, throwing my arm dramatically over my eyes.

Jasper chuckled before whispering, "Edward, how 'bout we leave the theatrics to the women?"

I laughed and put my arm at my side.

I closed my eyes and felt myself calming down dramatically; it was almost as if I'd just eaten Thanksgiving dinner. I felt heavy, warm and safe.

Bella's cold hands caressed the sides of my face as they found purchase on my temples.

I forced myself to shove the little bit of panic I had left in me as deep as I could. I began to count backwards from ten, trying to get my heartbeat to even itself out.

I didn't even get to 6 before I felt myself dozing off.

I looked around, shocked at my surroundings. I was standing in my backyard in Phoenix twirling Amber happily. She was gazing lovingly into my eyes. I could smell the breeze blowing through her hair, with the sound of our laughter echoing around us.

I remembered in vivid detail what day this was…Amber had snuck out of my house for the very first time last night. She had snuck through my window and lay down in the bed next to me. She had told me shortly after her arrival that she was in love with me…for the very first time.

I watched my memory looking on at the blissful couple. Just as she pulled me closer to kiss my lips the scene before me changed…it was like watching a video that had been exposed to heat. The image curled in on itself before disappearing altogether.

Many more memories followed suit…the next to last to disappear from my mind was the first time she had moaned my name as she fell apart around my fingers. I found myself reaching out to this memory. My heart was beating out of my chest as I watched the memory fade from my view.

The very last memory I had of Amber was of the last time I saw her…when she left me. My heart constricted painfully as I watched her rip my chest open with her words. I was able to see the look of pure anguish on my face as she imploded my world. I saw the way her face crumbled when she turned from me.

I remembered so clearly that the only thing that I could concentrate on past the irrational anger was that I wanted so very desperately to die as she walked away from me.

My heart rate continued to soar as a panicky feeling engulfed me. There was something important in my life that I should remember, but I couldn't bring it to my mind.

I sat straight up in the chaise, clinging to Jasper's knee, feeling like I was going to be sick.

"Bella," Jasper drawled, "He's fixen to be sick, darlin'."

"Jasper," she cried, "please help him."

Blackness swirled around the edges of my vision and I felt myself fall back into the soft chaise before unconsciousness took me away.


	15. A Clean Slate

**Hello all you kind people! A great Saturday morning to ya'll! I'm currently at work, fixen to make keys for my arrivals for the day and decided to get this out to you today…even though it was due yesterday.**

**Thanks, as always to my superawesome beta extraordinaire, Dil9 who offers her unconditional support even through my emotional issues, lol. Love ya girl.**

**This chapter is a little sad but is necessary for the story to progress. Have faith in me and review…I love to hear what you think…and we're inching closer to someone else getting their own one-shot again. ; )**

**Edward's POV**

My vision swam for a few long moments as I stared around with glassy eyes.

The only thing I knew unequivocally was that there was a beautiful immortal looking at me worriedly. I felt my heart swell with pride as I knew that she was **my** immortal. I had a hard time remembering right off the bat how long we had been together, but I knew that my entire world revolved around her.

I remembered bits and pieces of information from while I was out…the biggest thing that I remember is that Bella had shown me a memory of hers – the very first time she saw me. I remember the feelings that flitted through her almost as fast as the wings of a hummingbird beat. She felt attraction, lust, wonder and several others before a crushing love squeezed her silent heart.

She knew that I was her forever the moment she laid eyes on me. I wish I could say the same.

I can't bring to the forefront of my mind why I couldn't commit to her the first second I saw her…it's like knowing that there's something there, but looking for it through a glass of milk.

"Edward, darling," her melodious voice met my ears as my mind spun in wonder, "Are you okay? Can you talk?"

She looked like she would cry if she were able to and I knew that I needed to do something to keep her from feeling this badly – she was my angel and I needed her happy all the time.

I launched myself at her, kissing her lips passionately. She grabbed my shoulders in her iron grip and pushed me slightly back before she started to look me over.

Rejection washed over me as I mistook her concerned gesture for denial. I had to be a school boy head over heels in love with someone who had over a century to perfect her control. I was a bumbling child battling with unquenchable lust.

Tears stung my eyes as I realized that Bella and Jasper were having a silent conversation right in front of me…talk about making me feel more like a child.

I couldn't catch anything from either of them…their lips weren't even forming coherent words – just vibrated quickly.

"I'm fine," I croaked, "I need to go."

I struggled to get to my feet and towards the front door, unable to see the door through the glaze of tears that marred my vision.

Before I could smack into something a flash blew through my line of vision and I found myself body to body with Bella.

"Edward," her small voice came to me sadly, "Where are you going?"

"Home. I can't be here wanting you as badly as I do knowing that it's an impossibility right now…and trust me, Bella, I want you in ways that I can't even fully express to myself."

Bella's face fell as she looked at me seriously. As she was opening her lips to speak, Jasper's voice carried to me faintly, "Told ya so."

Her lips trembled for a moment as she found her inner strength and leaned in to my lips. She brushed them against mine for a few seconds before blowing her icy breath in my face, "Edward, never think for a moment that I don't want you all the time. Babe, you were unconscious for over an hour this time. I panicked. I can't lose you, love. Not ever."

She pressed her lips fully to mine and rekindled the passion that I had kissed her with only moments before.

I wrapped my arms around her solid body, pulling her closer to me and groaning in pleasure as she pushed herself further into my embrace.

I didn't think that I wanted to make love to her, but I couldn't resist the urge to hold her close to me and allow her to kiss me senseless.

"Your room?" I questioned breathlessly through kisses.

In an uncomfortable display of her strength she grabbed me around the arms and flew up the stairs, most likely taking them two at a time.

In only seconds I felt myself bounce heavily on her mattress.

She looked at me, dark fire burning in her beautiful onyx eyes – threatening to consume every fiber of my being.

"Thanks, Jasper," she murmured huskily before stalking toward me.

"Why did you thank Jasper?" I asked, slightly uncomfortable with the idea that he had just played audience to our little display downstairs.

"He told me not to take things too far with you today. He said that as much lust as you were feeling, your need to be comforted and loved dwarfed every other emotion you were feeling. His idea was just for us to make out like horny teenagers for right now. I thanked him because if he hadn't of said anything, I would have probably jumped you the second you hit the bed."

My eyes widened perceptibly at the thought of him having access to my riotous emotions right now.

Bella continued to stalk toward me, leaning over my body – pressing her glorious breasts to my chest as I allowed myself to be lowered onto the bed, "Kiss me Edward."

Her voice was husky and demanding and perfect. How could I not oblige her in her request?

Our lips met in a heated struggle…hers gave as much as they took and I was more than happy to fill the other end of the spectrum for her.

We kissed for several long moments and as her hands caressed my face, my heart clenched in pain.

I gasped in shock at the sudden tightness in my chest – there was nothing in my mind but everything Bella. I didn't understand where this pain was coming from.

I pulled away from my beautiful girlfriend, distress evident on my face.

I couldn't comprehend what was happening – there had never been anyone who had ever held such a prominent place in my heart as Bella does…so why did I feel like I was losing something precious?

Seeing the bemusement on her beautiful face, I leaned in to her kiss again.

The fire slowly built, spreading leisurely through my body. I felt like I had never needed her as much as I currently needed her.

Our hands became restless as they roamed every inch of skin where they could find purchase.

Suddenly, the door to the room burst open and in the doorway stood a very frightened Alice.

She trembled as she stared at us – still locked in a needy embrace – and her eyes blanked out as she gaped vacantly at a vision she was no doubt in the middle of.

I felt Bella tense up as the focus came back to Alice's eyes, only to be replaced by terror, "Bella, we have to get Edward out of here right _now_!"

Bella stood in one fluid motion the terror reflecting in her own eyes, "What's going on, Ali?"

Bella gazed at me in horror as the words left Alice's lips, "The Volturi are entering our property right this second. They've heard from their very own precognitive that we've got a human here. They are here to make a stand on our _laws_."

Bella's eyes lost the horrified look they previously held and I caught my breath as I saw unmistakable rage fill her face.

"I'm so sorry Edward," her sad voice came to me just as I heard an older voice drift from behind Alice in the doorway, "I see it **is** true. Come Cullens, there is much that we need to discuss."


	16. Hot Heads And All Consuming Fires

**Hey ya'll! Fair warning, in an effort to get this to you all as quickly as possible, I didn't run it by my fucking **_**awesome**_** beta Dil9…so ANY errors are all my own. I just got off a 6 day streak and have been completely unable to write this until just about an hour ago.**

**Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, favorited and followed this story and me! Ya'll make my day.**

**Congratulations to the awesome nikyta for being the 100****th**** reviewer! Get up with me and let me know what you want for your one-shot darlin'. Next one-shot given away will be at review number 150…I know ya'll can do it! : )**

**Read, enjoy and review!**

**EPOV**

I stood with my mouth gaping open as Bella's face contorted in a mix of fear and intense anger.

"I see that your human could quite possibly have brain damage," the older looking vampire laughed.

I took in his appearance – physically, he looked to be well over fifty. His grey hair was illustrious. His cold, calculating red eyes watched me with humorous fascination. His skin was unlike the Cullens'. It looked greasy…and his voice was just as oily. I could feel the goose bumps rise on my skin as he appraised me silently.

"He is _not_ brain damaged, Aro," Bella hissed angrily, "He has never _had_ to be in a presence such as yours and is probably wondering who the hell you are."

This cheered our old visitor endlessly, "Oh Bella!" he chortled gaily, "I have missed your spitfire so! You know you really did a number on our poor Demitri's heart when you left him completely alone. Losing you was a dire hit on our guard as well. We all miss you, Bella. Are you certain that we can't convince you to come back home with us?"

Bella narrowed her eyes and retorted, "Demitri has been, is and will always be fine without me. If you believe that his heart was broken when I left, you are a much bigger fool than I had originally thought, Aro Volturi. For someone who has been alive for millennia – you certainly are no more intelligent than some of the humans you feed from. You know that I'm happy with my family. We have a purpose here – we help humans in an effort to apologize and make up for our nature. Not _all_ of us are monsters, Aro, and we choose to live as peacefully as possible. I do not see the need for this visit as we are not a threat to your precious _guard_."

I held my breath as I watched the exchange. Although I loved Bella more than my own life, I was worried that meeting this _royalty_ with aggression was not the way to go. Aro's face went from being gleeful to downright stony. His expression showed just how angry Bella had made him with her remarks.

"Isabella," he growled crossly, "you know how we feel about our food knowing of what we are. You are in breach of the number one rule of our kind. There are members of my _precious_ guard, as you like to call it, that are sorely demanding the death of your _human_. At Demitri's request, we came to bear witness to the goings on in this _family_. If we had seen that there was no threat here, we would have left in peace…but now," his voice turned malicious, "I see that my guard was right. The human has to die one way or another, Isabella. Since you are making no move to change him to your equal, I see no need for him to continue to waste space here."

Bella's face instantaneously became furious and her voice took on a commanding tone, "Aro Volturi, _you will not lay one finger on Edward._"

"Foolish child," he growled, "I take orders from no one – especially one as young as you. I see no reason to let him continue his worthless life."

"I, Isabella Cullen," she shouted as she stood to her full height, "claim Edward Swan as my _mate_. He is now under my protection and by extension, _yours_ Aro. You know our laws as you had a hand in the making of them. By the royal decree of your doing, Aro, he cannot be harmed. You must now leave us in peace…unless you want word to get out that the Volturi are not the regal protectors they claim to be…that you all are nothing more than really old, senile bullies. Give me a reason, Aro."

Realizing now that I had sat back, watching their interaction as one would a tennis match and only breathing when I had no other choice; I sucked in a noisy breath…and immediately regretted that decision.

A set of stone cold ruby eyes met mine as if he'd forgotten I was still in the room. My breathing became shallower and quicker…I began to fight the blackness that fought in from the edges of my vision.

I needed to be awake to see what was going to happen. I knew that Bella would die before any harm came to me but I quickly understood that no matter what Bella had thought, Aro held all of the aces in his hand.

The corner of his mouth quirked in a cruel smile and I heard Alice shriek from the doorway, "Bella, stop him!"

I looked to Bella inquisitively for only a heartbeat before I felt a sharp slice at the side of my neck – precisely where my jugular vein ran.

I snapped my head to look at Aro as I felt a gush of wet heat rapidly soak the front of my shirt.

His eyes were cruel and satisfied as I took in the fresh blood on his nails and impeccably wrinkle free coat.

In a flash, the rest of the Cullens were in the room. Jasper was holding Aro by the throat to the wall, snarling in his face. Emmett was standing to the other side of Aro, twisting his arm at an unnatural angle. Esme stood with her eyes full of fear next to Alice who was trembling with what looked like sobs. Rosalie stood in the doorway, her face a mask of unabashed fear. Carlisle was next to Bella speaking almost too fast for me to hear, "Bella, you're going to _have _to change him. He's lost too much blood and there's no way to stop the bleeding and get more blood into him before his body goes into shock. You have less than a minute to make your decision."

Bella's face was distraught, "Carlisle, what if I do it wrong?! You have to do it."

"Bella," his voice though frantic, was still comforting, "you have the best control out of all of us. You can do this. It's only right that your venom flows through his veins. Though your bond is strong with him, the venom will strengthen it. Don't you want to do everything in your power to cement your bond?"

Her dark eyes landed on mine as she looked at me imploringly – needing my permission before she made a decision on my behalf. I tried for one sharp nod but my head was heavy and rolled around on my shoulders.

She was by my side in an instant and her breath washed over my face as she whispered in my ear.

"Edward, I'm so sorry…"

Her heartbroken murmur was the last thing I heard before the sting on my throat and the intense fire began to consume me.


	17. All Things Combustible

**A/N: Hey ya'll. Technically since I haven't been to sleep yet, it is still Friday for me. All thanks go to my superbeta, Dil9 for kindly reminding me that I've had my head buried in the sand. Had it not been for her vigilance, ya'll would have probably gotten this Sunday or Monday. It's been insane at work…all I can really say about it is that living in Alabama during the Auburn/LSU game is torture and I can already not wait until football season is over…ugh.**

**I know I have sucked epically on my review replies…my internet is non-existent at best here at the house…but everyone who has reviewed will be seeing something from me here very soon. : )**

**See author's note at the bottom…**

**EPOV**

I was unaware of everything except for the flames that bit angrily at every centimeter of my flesh.

I was burning in parts of my body that I wasn't even aware existed and I was freaking out in ways almost too epic for my brain to comprehend.

I could feel the screams ripping their way up my throat, mingling with what blood was still clinging to the walls of my esophagus. They scraped their way out of my mouth. I knew that I was lying on something and was thrashing about, but I was willing to do whatever it took to make the burning pain stop.

It could have been years that I burned…it could have only been seconds…time meant nothing for me as my cells felt as if they were being reduced to ash.

At some point, I could feel the calming presence of another close by me and ice cold hands soothing my face. Those hands would quiet the screams long enough for the fires to reach new levels of searing heat…that sent me screaming again.

Soft words were cooed to me in my ear but I could not concentrate enough to really understand them. I felt several other presences near me as well but could not find it in myself to worry about it enough to want to seek who or what they were.

At some point, I felt the fire recede from my limbs leaving cold, hard, perfect marble in its wake. I knew that I shouldn't be too excited about the lack of pain…it was my experience that lack of pain just meant that you were being given a little calm before the shit storm really hit.

I began to slowly become more aware of the things around me. I could hear voices from miles around…not just the several feet that it had been before.

I could hear the mental voices of the Volturi guard as they worriedly paced the tree line at the county line that was a little over a mile away from the house. There was one that stuck out to me…a male's voice, "I don't care what Aro has asked of us! He's been gone almost 2 whole days with no word of his condition. We were told to stay on this fringe until he returned…but he never did say what he wanted us to do if he didn't show back up around here. I knew the Cullen's were trouble, but did anyone listen to me? No. Now we're all stuck out here like bored little German Shepherds waiting for their master to return. I have news for these people – I'm not about to stand around while Aro gets his ass incinerated. He has exactly three more hours and then I'm going searching for him."

I felt the finality ringing in the last thought of the vampire and became instantly worried. I had tried to vocally communicate before with the vampires in the room but the only thing that came from my mouth was increasingly more raspy screeches.

If I couldn't warn them, they could all be sitting ducks while this guard comes to find their leader, only to find him a smoldering pile of ash when they get here.

I concentrated really hard on calming my emotions so that I would be able to get Jasper's attention.

When I was finally as calm as I could muster, I pushed out a burst of frantic energy and I felt Jasper fly to my side. I heard Bella's voice as clearly as if I weren't in the midst of fiery torment, "Jasper, what is it brother? Is he okay?"

"Darlin'," he drawled excitedly, "He got real calm right there for a moment and now he's got so much panic floodin' his body right now I feel like I could climb the walls. I wish _I_ could read minds so that I could know what's goin' on with him. I wonder if it's the rest of the guard? I thought it was awfully weird that Aro just came alone. Is he still sitting unconscious in Carlisle's office?"

"Yes, Jasper," the tinkling voice of Alice floated not far from my head assuredly, "He's still knocked out. Edward is going to be coming out of his change just about the same exact time the rest of the guard shows up here looking for Aro. Aro will be awake before then with those new memories that Bella bestowed on him…he is going to be under the impression that Edward had been changed a few days before their initial arrival in Washington and that we're of no threat to him or his guard. He _will_ extend the offer to us _gifted_ ones to join the coven…as usual…and he will be only mildly put out at our refusals. They will leave in peace."

The fire only burned in my chest now and the flames were becoming incredibly more and more blistering by the second. I clawed at my chest in effort to get the blazing organ out from my body.

"Emmett," Bella called panicky, "Come hold Edward's hands before he hurts himself."

In a few short moments, strong arms pinned my own down beside me in a rock hard vice grip.

Just as my exhausted heart began to beat its last frantic beats, my body came up from the surface I was on…as if I was a marionette on a string being pulled by its master.

With its final beats, my heart pumped so hard that I was almost sure it would come break through my skin. It's very last thump was loud and resounding…almost echoing under my skin.

I jumped up swiftly from the table and was crouching almost instantly against the wall, sensing the desperation in the air as I heard the thoughts of the male vampire come ever closer, "We need to get Aro somewhere immediately! There is a male vampire from the guard on his way to the house this second to find him. If he finds him in any condition other than sitting around with us having a good time, I'm certain we're going to find ourselves in the midst of a really nasty war."

I quickly looked into the faces of my new family and they nodded almost imperceptibly as they all sprang into action.

I flitted to Bella's side long enough to peck a kiss on her lips and ran off behind the others to make sure that this whole meeting went off without a hitch.

**A/N: My beta Dil9 has an amazing new story out called **_**Absolute Perfection**_**…and it IS. There have been moments where I didn't know whether to sit with my hand over my mouth or jump up and down, screaming at the screen. It is more than worth the few seconds it will take to hop on over to her page and take a gander. Leave her some love too. Here's the summary: **_**Absolute perfection. At least the soul searching music and the hands playing it were absolutely perfect. Was the man behind the mesmerizing music just as picture perfect? The musician in her was captivated by his compositions and the artist itched to draw him. Bella needed a model for her art assignment - would the owner of the perfect hands pose for her?**___

**Now, before you run away to read this eyeball sex that she has going on, leave me a review? After the catastrophic shit I dealt with today at work, I could **_**really**_** use the positive feedback. Thanks! Love every single one of you…**_**ya'll make me tingle.**_** ; )**


	18. Cordial Meetings And Hungry Fleetings

**A/N: Hey ya'll. Sorry about this being a day late but life has gotten in the way the whole way around. Thanks to my superawesome beta Dil9 for all her support and lovely words through my ginormous fail through cold medicine and other illness related issues.**

**The chapter after this will see our dynamic duo taking things to a whole new level.**

**Read, review and enjoy…more at the bottom.**

**EPOV**

I stood with my new family in Carlisle's office as Jasper began to bring Aro around.

We had come up with a pretty clever idea, if I do say so myself…as Aro regained consciousness, we were all going to stand around laughing as if he'd just told a really funny story. Because of Bella's wonderful gift, his memory would show him that he had been telling humorous stories from his endless years in the guard. This is something he only ever did if he felt completely at ease…this was sheer genius on Bella's part.

You couldn't even tell that we were all a bit stressed out as we laughed loudly. Thanks to Jasper's gift, he was flooding us with humor and we continued to laugh, even though we felt anything but funny.

Aro stood up, his filmy red eyes sparkling brightly with barely suppressed humor, "And that's when I told him that it wasn't polite to meddle with the relationships of others!"

We all laughed louder than before, Emmett's booming, snorting laugh setting us off again.

I knew that if I had been human, my sides would be hurting so bad; I'd hardly be able to breathe.

Aro clapped his hands together merrily, "Well, Cullens, I'm supremely thankful that there was no real reason for concern on our part. I hate to say it, but I must be going. I must fully extend an offer to any and all of you who would like to join the guard. I feel that all of you would make splendid additions to our coven…and the offer will _always _stand, so don't feel rushed. Very young Edward, it was wonderful meeting you! I'm sorry that our timing wasn't so great and we took time away from your mate when you're still but _days_ old. I will let you all get back to doing whatever it is that you do. Take care, young Edward! Isabella, I look forward to a visit from your mate and yourself when he feels able to travel."

As he extended his offer to us, we politely shook our heads to let him know that none of us were on board for any service to the guard.

He waved excitedly as his other hand reached the knob on the door.

Just as he pulled the door open, a large vampire clothed in a dark blood red cloak stopped running at the house, his mouth agape…clearly not expecting to see his master in one piece.

The large man sputtered a few times, "A…Aro! I'm surprised to see you well! I know that you had told us to wait but I feared the worst. The others are waiting on the fringe just as you requested of us. I'm sorry that I didn't follow your orders. I just thought that two whole days with no word was awfully long for a visit with a positive ending."

Aro looked at the cowering form crossly, "Felix! Did I _not_ express myself clearly? I'm not a child by any means! I do not need babysitters! Our peace-loving Cullens were indulging me with their time as we were swapping stories. Even the newly changed Edward has been sharing stories of his youth as a human. Oh, how the times have changed! We need to leave here post haste and begin to track those three nomads that we've been hearing about."

He turned to face Carlisle, "Have you seen them around here? It's a tall blonde man, a red headed female and a dark skinned man. They've left quite a mess in several states that we've had to clean up and I tire of their indiscretion. I even had to set fire to a city in Oregon just to hide the massacre they left in their wake. Obviously, they are daft to challenge the Volturi. We will make sure that an example is set for those out there who question the Volturi's effectiveness in the future. Thank you, dear Cullens, for your hospitality…we will take our leave now. It seems I have a few things to teach young Felix here."

We all stood with fake smiles plastered to our faces as the stress level reached epic proportions. Apparently, Aro didn't take notice to the fact that he hadn't even given us a chance to respond to any of his inquiries. Hopefully, Felix didn't either…God willing, he'd be so scared of the lessons he was about to learn that he wouldn't think to bring it to light to his master.

They fled to the back of the property where the rest of the guard was waiting rather apathetically. I didn't hear anything to alarm me from their thoughts as I concentrated really hard on their thoughts…even digging around when I felt the need to.

I shuddered delicately as I read two of the present minds…Jane and Alec. The two that are referred to as the witch twins. Apparently, their bond runs _much_ deeper than is appropriate for a brother and sister. They were bored with this "mission" and were anxious to get home to have some private time.

Ugh.

As their mental voices faded from my mind, I was better able to hear the minds of my family.

Carlisle's wonder, "I can't believe that Edward just took control of the situation. I can't believe that it all ended peacefully – I can't imagine what I'd do if I had lost any of my family. Oh, God. I hope Esme is doing well."

He looked at me for confirmation and I listened more closely to her relief, "Thank the stars that everyone's okay! My family grew by one and we didn't lose _anyone _in the process! I need some time alone with my _mate_…" her thoughts trailed off as my eyes widened at the thoughts that flooded her mind. She _really_ needed some alone time with Carlisle.

I met his eyes and winked at him. It seemed that he understood that her needs were as bad as his were. In a flash, even to my new, improved eyes, they were gone.

Emmett was a little put out that things didn't resort to a fight, "Damn them Volturi fuckers! I can't believe they came here with the intention of killing us all! I didn't even get to hit one of those bastards…hmmm…Rose is looking awfully good right now…when she stresses out, she needs me to put everything back into perspective for her. Lucky her, I'm now in the mood."

Out loud he snickered before saying, "Hey Rose. I can think of a part of the forest that we haven't thinned yet."

Her mind blanked out before she raised lusty eyes to his and hand in hand they took off out the door.

Alice and Jasper were sitting quietly on the couch, eyes locked in a silent conversation of their deep feelings for each other…honestly, it was so intimate looking that I had to avert my eyes. I felt like I was just caught peeking into someone's underwear drawer.

My mind focused on the last mind that I could hear…Bella's.

"My God, he _is_ stunning as an immortal. My mate is **HOT**! I wonder if he's thirsty…he's been through hell the past few days. I should make sure that he feeds."

Until that moment, I hadn't even noticed what could be described as discomfort in my throat. With her unspoken words, my throat opened the floodgates of Hell and I suddenly felt as if the fire was back, but only in my throat.

My panicky eyes met Bella's own alarmed ocher eyes and she extended her hand to me, "Come baby. Let's get you fed…then we'll figure out what to do from here."

I took her hand as we fled the house, avoiding the area of forest that smelled distinctively of Emmett and Rosalie.

**A/N: So, I'm beta'ing a story for AtEnA88. It's called **_**Jasper's Twilight Saga.**_** It's completely amazing. Not a J/A story. There's a new character and I **_**HEART**_** her so much. Here's the summary: EX 'JASPER'S TWILIGHT'. EDITING IN PROGRESS. A new Twilight Saga,with Jasper as the protagonist, parallel to the Edward and Bella's one. We'll see how a different couple faces the adventures and difficulties told in the original story. No A/J. From the story: 'I turn down the junk food aisle and freeze. I think my super brain has just broken.'**


	19. Hunting - For More Than Food

**A/N: Warning, this chapter is unbeta'd because my internet at the house completely stopped. Thanks to Dil9 anyways for being the best beta a redneck could have. ;) Love ya doll.**

**Thanks to all of you who have taken the time to read, review, favorite and follow the story as well as myself. Ya'll are the reason I write…and I could never thank ya'll enough. I'm working on the next chapter right now so that I can get it sent off to Dil9 in plenty of time to get posted on Friday morning. Thanks to everyone for their unending patience.**

**I've gotten some kind of bug that started out as a sinus infection and fluid behind my eardrums, has morphed into my chest and I still have ungodly pressure in my ears so if any of this doesn't make sense, my sincerest apologies…know that I'm on antibiotics right now that aren't really helping in the least little bit.**

**This chapter is twice the length of my normal chapters…so maybe…**

**Leave me a review?**

**EPOV**

Grabbing Bella's hand, we ran at full speed to the back of the property – not even slowing as we jumped the intimidating looking river that flowed a mile from the house.

I could feel the raw power in my muscles all the way down into my bones. I felt fantastic.

As we ran I chanced a glance at the beautiful woman running next to me. With my new eyes I could see that the ethereal beauty I _thought_ she possessed didn't even begin to scratch the surface of how stunning she really was.

I stopped dead in my tracks as I took notice of every part of her…the multi-tonal hues in her golden eyes…the different shades of her chocolate hair as the sunlight bounced from the silken strands…the lithe muscle that added to her curves.

I felt my body react in a similar fashion as it had time and time again.

Needless breaths panted through the slight space between my lips as my eyes raked over her form.

In seconds, before my conscious mind could fully plan anything, I was pouncing at her. I encircled her in my arms and chuckled a little bit as we tumbled over and over, finally coming to rest as we knocked over a large pine tree.

We landed with her astride my body – lining up with me perfectly.

She took the humor right out of the moment by gently grinding down onto me. A low growl began to build in my chest as she looked deep into my blood red eyes…the reflection of them in her eyes were slightly startling…but I couldn't waste too much time on any of that.

Put simply, I was famished…and she was looking like a buffet of all of my favorite human foods. I couldn't wait to dig in.

In a fluid show of power, I flipped us easily so that I was atop her. As silly as it sounded, I needed to assert my masculinity to my mate.

I felt primal.

Her simple t-shirt and jeans were a nonissue for my brute strength and I marveled at how easily the fabric came apart in my fingers…leaving her in a bra and panties that matched my eyes perfectly.

A hiss escaped my lips as I took in the sight of her body through the flimsy material of the silk and lace. Her dusky nipples were tightening against the fabric and there was an ever growing spot on her panties, showing off the light dusting of hair down her slit.

My mouth filled with venom as I breathed in deeply…taking into me the scent of her desire.

Her hands quickly relieved me of my clothes as well and we lay there panting needlessly. I was almost afraid to touch her. There were no boundaries this time and I remembered a dusty conversation about newborn strength. I was terrified to hurt her.

Her thoughts were clear. She was impressed with the way my body looked after the change. My muscles had filled out nicely and I had lost every ounce of baby fat my body had held onto through the hell that was puberty.

She was all but screaming at me to touch her and yet I still hesitated.

The breeze whistled through the branches of the trees. The ground nothing more than a silken blanket of greens below us…I reveled in the feeling of each individual blade under my fingers.

I let my hand experimentally graze the side of her neck…her answering mental, "_Yessss!_" blowing me away.

Her mind spun dizzily with thoughts of everything she wanted to do to me now that I was indestructible. I made a mental note to file those away for future times.

My hand continued it's trek across her neck before trailing lazily along her collarbones. I felt like I was getting drunk from the feel of her skin beneath my fingertips. Her sensitive breasts reacted deliciously to my touch and her back arched from the earth below her as I grazed the more sensitive spots. As I encountered the fabric barrier between us I tore into them with my teeth, wanting to feel the fabric give immediately to the pressure and cut of my teeth.

Finally, after what seemed like long hours of touching and baring her entirely to me, she lay below me completely naked. I sat back on my heels as I took in her prone form.

My eyes devoured every inch of skin, touching gently the light colored mole on her hip.

_Edward?_

My mate's mental voice gently probed my mind as her hands tenderly caressed my chest.

"Yes, love?"

_I really need you to touch me, Edward. I need you inside of me…beside me…claim me as I have claimed you. Don't worry, my mate, you won't hurt me._

My inner caveman roared at the urgency in her thoughts. He liked the idea of claiming her almost as much as I did.

Spreading her legs almost roughly, I lined myself up with her warmth and began to tease her. I moved the sensitive tip of my erection up and down her lips – stopping the direct up and down path only long enough to circle her clit.

_Edward, _she pleaded, _I can't take anymore. Please. P-please. I need you inside of me now. I love you, Edward. Forever._

Hearing her promise of a forever that I could just now begin to grasp broke the tenuous hold on my control.

I eased myself into her, feeling her stretch to accommodate me. I threw my head back in wonder at the new feelings rushing through me. No longer was she the cold, hard being I had grown accustomed to – she was my equal in every true sense of the word.

Finally seated completely inside of her, I stayed completely still…taking in everything about this moment in time. This would be the first time we had ever truly made love as a pair…equal in every way and I wanted this etched on my mind for all of eternity.

When she had decided that I had taken too long for her liking, she began to rock her hips against me – moving me infinitesimally inside her.

Following her lead, I rocked my hips against hers slowly – drawing out our pleasure.

With each new place inside of her that I hit I began to unravel more and more. I felt the beginnings of my climax at the edge of my body. It didn't help that the air was filled with breathless little pants from both of us as we found new little pleasure points within each other.

Not wanting to leave my mate wanting, I scanned briefly through her mind and picked out the things I did that made her feel better and better.

_Oh, baby,_ she murmured within her mind, _I'm __**so**__ close. Dear God, please don't stop._

I pulled back just far enough to fit my hand in between us to circle her clit and instantly she began to tighten around me. I knew that she wasn't too far from the edge. This was perfect because I didn't know how much longer I could hold on.

"Oh, my God, Edward," her husky voice pierced the near quiet around us, "God, I'm coming! Yes, God yes!"

Hearing her voice ring out along the trees and echo back were my undoing.

I thrust in earnest now, needing to get where she already was.

As the tidal wave caught up to me and crashed around us, I acted on pure instinct and sunk my teeth into the side of her neck. The shock of my act threw her into her second orgasm as I sat back on my heels in horror.

I had just bitten Bella. I scanned her thoughts for any presence of pain and drew in a deep, shaky breath as I registered nothing but unabashed pleasure from her mind.

I reverently caressed my mark on her that would shine for the universe to see from now until eternity and my silent heart clenched as I read the tender thoughts in her mind.

_Edward, I can see in your eyes that you're over-thinking the bite. Any true mated couple marks each other. The mating mark is special in that it's like a beacon for others of our kind that the vampire is mated and is not to be messed with. You will have one before all is said and done. I knew that this time needed to be about your needs and desires. I have waited far too long for you, Edward Swan, and I intend not to go without you ever again._

My throat constricted lightly and I was able to nod at her before wrapping her into my tight embrace.

We stayed lying there on the forest floor for hours. By the time my thirst made itself known again, the sky was black and full of stars.

I gazed in wonder slowly back and forth from my magnificent mate to the millions of stars in the sky. I stared for a few long moments at a shooting star as it made it's way by.

_Shooting stars are amazing. You'd be surprised at how many you will see now that you're immortal. Human eyes aren't able to detect the dozens of shooting stars that fly by each hour. I'm so very thankful to be sharing this with you. I love you Edward…more than my own life._

I looked lovingly into her darkening eyes – all of our activities must have left her famished.

"Bella, my heart," my slightly deeper voice murmured to her, knowing very well that she could hear me as if I were speaking at a normal volume, "I love you too. You're my whole life now. You're my forever and I vow right here, right now, to make you as blissful as I know I'm going to be. Yes, darling, the stars are beautiful but they pale in comparison to your stunning splendor. I have to be the luckiest man on Earth to have you by my side for many lifetimes to come."

I brushed my lips against hers gently before standing fluidly and pulling her with me.

We clasped our hands tightly before taking off in the direction of smaller hearts beating frantically in fear of the larger predators that roamed the woods.

We came across several deer and took them all out without a problem. I still felt slightly insatiable, even though I had technically eaten two deer by myself.

I heard the hiss of a large mountain lion several yards from where I stood, stark naked and drenched in blood.

I crept closer to the wet sound of the lion's heart.

I sized him up as I circled, looking for the best point of attack.

I could hear Bella a few feet behind me and smirked at the tones her mind had taken.

_Jesus, he's gorgeous. Feral. Mine. He was born for this life. There is no doubt left in my mind. He went after the animals straight away…almost completely disregarding the hunters less than a mile from us. I love seeing his muscles bunch as he stalks his prey. I don't think I'll ever tire of seeing his body._

That was the last thought I caught from her before I sprang at the great cat, effectively ending his life.

"Come on, love," I coaxed her gently, "I can hear the minds of our family. They want to see us. There's much need for celebration as well as a need to discuss what we're going to tell Charlie."

Suddenly thinking of my father, I became melancholy. It was going to kill Charlie no matter what we decided to tell him.


	20. What About Charlie?

**A/N: Hey ya'll! Fixen to sit down with Gmail and Ffic and reply to my past reviews. Sorry in advance for being so late in getting back to ya'll…needless to say it's been hell – the least of my worries but the most draining is that I've had a monthly visitor for going on 3 weeks now and I'm about ready to rip out all the plumbing to make it stop…not that ya'll wanted to know that, but still.**

**Thanks to my beautiful beta Dil9 for her unwavering help and faith in me – I always light up like a damned Christmas tree when I see something in my email from her…it's her never ending support and tireless efforts that give ya'll readable chapters and not the insane ramblings of an irritated redneck, lol.**

**Thanks also to ggb-luma who helps talk me from my ledge every time I feel like jumping. Thanks doll, I **_**heart**_** you…hard.**

**Thank you to all of the new readers, reviewers and alerters. Welcome to the show…hope you enjoy the performance. *bear with me…there are days you'll laugh…days you'll cry…and days you will want to give me a sympathetic pat…in the cheek…with a sledgehammer…swung by a wrecking ball* ; )**

**Please review! It makes my life happy – I always get **_**super**_**giddy when I get a new notification letting me know that you've taken time out of your hectic life to brighten mine. I love all of ya'll.**

**EPOV**

We walked at a leisurely pace through the woods, talking about Aro's impromptu visit.

When we broke through the clearing at the back of the house, we splashed our way through the river to rid ourselves of the remnants of our dinner. Until this point, I hadn't really thought about our lack of clothing. It almost seemed natural to walk with Bella like this. I felt as if we had fallen down the rabbit hole into our own Eden…and the world had never seen a more beautiful Eve.

Only yards from the river, I saw our family in perfect high definition waiting for us.

I felt embarrassment flood my body and I knew that if I had really still had any blood in my body that my face would be clear full.

Emmett's booming voice filled the clearing, "Way to go, Edward! Making an honest woman out of our Bella! I suspect that since your clothes are shredded somewhere out in the woods that the hot vampire sex was to your liking?"

I smiled wickedly at Emmett, "Wouldn't _you_ like to know? I'm sorry to disappoint you, Emmett, but there are some things I would like to keep between Bella and me. Thank you."

He stood with his mouth hanging agape and his thoughts flooded my mind.

_Well, it _must_ have been hot if he won't talk about it! I remember the first time Rose and I consummated our relationship…it was the most intense and life-altering experience of my existence. Oh, well. At least it looks like he _marked _her. I think it will be good for Bella to have someone who owns her as fully as she owns them._

I stood as still as a statue as Alice sheepishly brought us a change of clothes…thinking about what Emmett had just been thinking.

Did I really own Bella? I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she owned me – irrevocably. I had only caught glimpses into her mind but I had not really seen anything in there about her depth of feeling towards me.

As I stood there getting dressed, a murky image flitted through my head.

_A pale girl with ice blue eyes and warm brunette locks was standing close to me, her head thrown back in laughter._

I startled, completely confused. Who was this girl? It seemed to me that I should remember her but anytime I tried to pull the memories to the forefront of my mind…the images skittered away like frightened mice.

I looked over at my mate who was looking at me curiously…most likely wondering what my problem was.

I couldn't bring the name of the girl to my mind either.

I shook my head quickly to dispel the images and thoughts of the girl. Obviously, she was someone I had seen once when I was human and her image had stuck with me.

_Edward?_

Bella's inquisitive tone washed away all thoughts of the other girl.

"It's nothing, darling. I think I may have just had an unclear flashback of my human years."

She smiled but the smile didn't reach her eyes. I tried gently probing her mind for the thoughts that prevented her from true happiness…but all I encountered was a steel door.

I couldn't get around it, under it or through it…it was like a dead end and I had no idea how to feel about that.

My eyes narrowed at Bella's beautiful face as she quirked one eyebrow at me in turn.

_There are some things in my mind that I'd like to keep private, Edward. No offense is meant, but I really would like a little semblance of privacy._

Her mental voice wasn't angry but rather very sad.

Giving us time to get through our discussion, our family had been talking about menial things such as when they were going to go grocery shopping again for the local food banks.

One thought in particular brought my mind right out of my own thoughts and into planning mode.

Esme's worried motherly thoughts rang quietly in my head; _Poor Charlie. What are we going to tell him about Edward? It would most likely be best to tell him that Edward was attacked by something out in the woods. One way or another, he needs to believe that Edward is gone and he will never see him again. Having a newborn living with a human, regardless of how adept he seems about being around human blood would not be a good idea. It would be entirely possible that he could attack his own father and I don't want that hanging on Edward's conscience for the rest of eternity._

"Esme, I think you're right," I answered her unspoken worries, "Charlie cannot know that I'm alive. It's going to be hard enough on him as it is without having to add all of our newfound drama to his life. Especially with how narrowly we avoided an all out war with Aro this last time. I won't allow _any_ of my family to be put into danger because of me."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The next few weeks flew by. I had gotten to see my own funeral…saw firsthand the mourning of a young life that was lost all too soon.

Charlie seemed to be taking it much better than I had feared. I had visions of an inconsolable Charlie in my head. Thankfully, Billy Black refused to let him become a recluse. He made him go fishing with him every other couple of days and I was glad when he began to lean on Billy more fully each day.

I was walking through the living room of our house one day when I got an awesomely awful vision through my head. It was like watching a movie.

_Charlie was sitting on the couch in his living room…tears streaming down his face. He didn't hear the front door open nor did he hear the sound of Billy's wheelchair come through the room. He didn't realize that Billy was there until Billy was only a few short inches from his face._

_He sucked in a noisy breath through his teeth at the sudden closeness of his best friend of a few decades._

_There was no conscious thought in what happened next._

_Charlie leaned close, his eyes pleading for acceptance, understanding and love. Billy's answering stare was all that Charlie could see._

_Their lips met in a clumsy rough kiss._

_Their eyes streamed with tears of happiness for the charade to finally be over._

I snapped back to the present as I looked wonderingly into the amused gaze of my pixie-like sister, her voice tinkling, "Edward, I know you've been worrying about Charlie. You almost came to me several times to look into his future to make sure he's happy. Trust me, brother, he's never been happier than he is right now."

She patted me on the back before flittering out of the room.

"What is it, Edward?" Bella's voice was worried as she stood across the room watching the scene between Alice and me.

"Charlie's gay," I said, my voice still rather shocked even to my own ears.

"Are you okay with that?" her voice became wary as she started worrying about any newborn shit fit I might start.

I laughed heartily, "As long as Billy takes good care of my dad, I wouldn't care if Billy was a fucking martian."

Bella visibly relaxed and came to me. She circled me in her arms as she rested her head on my chest.

"I'm happy that you're okay with it. Alice had looked a few days ago when you were out on a hunt and was terrified to tell you. She didn't know if you'd be accepting of his choice for a life partner or if you'd fly off the handle and break stuff."

She laughed lightly at a vision of me flying through the house having a diva down.

I laughed a little harder than before, sincerely glad that it seemed Charlie was getting his happily ever after too.


	21. Trouble In Paradise

**A/N: Hey ya'll. Sorry this is a day late…I'm officially on day #30 of the monthly goblin and I'm ready to lock myself in a room somewhere and REFUSE to move.**

**Thanks to my beautiful beta, Dil9 for making my words all pretty and stuff…and loving Japer's accent. (He loves you too beautiful girl.) ; )**

**Thank you to all of you who have read, reviewed, favorited…you all make my life happier.**

**Please leave me a review…let me know what you think.**

**EPOV**

I sat in the living room with my new family.

I found that I was taking to this life with more ease than what was expected of me. Better than any of my family thought possible. Frankly, I think it pissed a few of them off.

Jasper was like a caged lion at times – pacing the floor, glaring at me…radiating irritation. His convoluted thoughts muddled my mind; _IMPOSSIBLE! He should be havin' serious control issues right now! I remember my first year and there wasn't a single human that walked by that I didn't have the irresistible urge to kill…I killed more in my first year than I did all the rest of the time I was with Maria! He should be tryin' to slaughter every town within sniffin' distance, not sittin' here all comfy like he's been immortal for decades. He most definitely shouldn't be able to go on solitary hunts. What's his deal? Is there something I'm missin'? Are the "newborn blues" just mind over matter? Is there a certain strength _I'm _missin'? If he can do it – why couldn't I? Is he a better man than me…a _stronger_ man? I'm the goddamned God of War for fucks sakes!_

These thoughts continued for days on end before I pulled him to the side one afternoon. The irritation level in the house was at a boiling point – Bella and I had never been closer to snapping at each other than we were that day. I was trying to get a quickie on and she damned near bit my head off.

I knew at that moment that I needed to do something to avoid my relationship with Bella coming to an abrupt and messy end.

"Jasper, brother," I said as cordially as I could…with the continuing irritation rolling from him in waves, "I would like to talk to you outside please. Come hunt with me."

He cut his narrowed eyes to mine before hissing, "I really don't feel the need to feed right now but thank you for your _generous_ offer."

I grabbed his arm roughly, forcing him to look me in the eye fully, "You may not feel the need but everyone in the house is feeling all the negative vibes coming from you. Haven't you noticed how even Carlisle and Esme have been bickering the past couple of days? This shit's gotta give man. I have heard your thoughts God of War. I know what causes your irritation and I'd like to diffuse this situation before it can poison you."

His eyes narrowed further before he flipped our stance and had me instantly against the wall by my throat, "You don't know a damned thing about me, Swan. Don't get it twisted, thinkin' that you do. I _know_ that everyone's on edge because of me but sadly I don't think there's a damned thing I can do about it aside from leavin' the family for awhile. I don't see how talkin' to your infantile ass is gonna help me with my inner _demons_. I suggest you leave this alone – _brother_," he sneered in my face.

"Jasper, give it a fucking break. I only want to try to help you because you're my brother and by fuck, you're making my family all freaked out. My woman is constantly PMS'ing…yelling at me for shit I haven't even done yet! Emmett is all grumpy – he won't play anything with anyone. He hasn't cracked a single joke in forty-eight hours. Rosalie _still_ hates me – no surprise there. Alice hasn't even had a single energetic or annoying thing to do. She's _your_ mate, asshole. _You_ should be noticing your wife's irritation level! And god dammit, Jasper, I just want my brother back! We've never been all too close but I would like a relationship with you based on mutual trust, respect and _later on_, love. I know that my first year so far is depressing you, man. You don't need to doubt yourself. You're an amazing immortal and a damned good guy! You've said so yourself at the very beginning – we _all_ have our gifts, our cake walks, our hardships. Maybe your first year was difficult to prepare you for the hellacious time you had with Maria? I don't know. Maybe mine has been super easy so that I can save my energy for something bigger brewing on the horizon. I don't know that either. All I really know is that you're getting all bent out of shape over something that _none_ of us can control. This shit has got to stop. Come. Let's get dinner to go."

He growled at me for long moments before taking a long unneeded breath, "I understand where you're comin' from, Edward. I do. What you have to understand is that my life was anything but easy until I met Alice. It was literally the seventh circle of hell. I _thought_ for the longest time that I _had_ actually died and went to hell…and that Maria was Satan…there to torture me for any wrong doin' I'd done while I was human. That first year I agonized over every time I lied to my mama. Every single time I stayed out past curfew. Every time I played hookie from school…didn't go to church. I tore myself up. I just really don't understand why the fuck my life has been like eatin' broken glass while yours has been like a daydream. I don't fuckin' get it. I don't have any aversion to you as a brother…as a person. I'm seriously doubtin' myself. It's really nothin' to do with you other than your infallible control. I'm sure that as I get to know you more and more as a person I'll be easier around you…you have one of the best emotional atmospheres I've ever experienced. Let's go get some take-out."

I laughed lightly as the positive emotional atmosphere that suddenly overwhelmed the house.

We walked out of the door and ran at full speed toward the woods, chuckling and playfully shoving each other.

I leaned toward him conspiratorially, "If it makes you feel any better, Jas, I can go take out a couple of villages for you."

He leaned his head back and laughed long and hard, "Let me get back to you on that, okay?"

I felt lighter than I had in what seemed like years and knew that this was going to be the turning point in my relationship with Jasper.

I was ready for the brothers I never had.


	22. Taking Some Time For Ourselves

**A/N: This is unbeta'd because I have been coerced ; ) by my beautiful beta Dil9 to enter the **_**Tales From The Void2**_** contest…I still want to vomit…I'm really nervous. It is the first contest I've ever entered and it's anonymous, so I'm in a constant state of nausea. **

**Even though its unbeta'd, MUCHO thanks go to my beautiful, wonderful, astronomically fabulous beta, Dil9 – I hope you enjoy your weekend darling.**

**For all of those who have been reviewing, favoriting and alerting, I *heart* ya'll so much. To those who aren't but are reading, I *heart* ya'll so much too. Welcome to all the newcomers…welcome back to those who are coming back.**

**I hope you were in the mood for some sexy times…cause they be here. ; ) **

**Enjoy…review?**

**EPOV**

Weeks have passed since my talk with Jasper and I honestly believe that we're closer than I ever could have dreamed. We've sat and discussed his time before living with the family and to be honest, it was like listening to a horror story.

I don't know how he managed to come out of it all sane.

Maria sounded like a reincarnation of Vlad the Impaler…a bloodthirsty bitch.

From the rumors that he'd been hearing from Peter and Charlotte down south, someone had finally put the bitch in her place…more thanks to the Volturi.

Her ashes have long since mingled with the air surrounding the Volturi castle.

I've never been happier for someone as I am for Jasper. If he hadn't of found the family when he did, there is no telling what would have happened to him.

Watching him and Alice interact with each other was something else…if I wasn't so focused on my mate, I would be spending hours on watching them. They were cute…and sweet.

It could be nauseating at times.

Like I had any room to talk.

I had made arrangements for the entire family to take an extended hunting trip. I wanted them all out of the house for at least a week.

I needed my mate without having to worry about Emmett in the next room being crude.

The last time we had sex - when things got a little loud, Emmett…in pure Emmett fashion…began moaning like a porn star before throwing a chair through the wall.

To say that put the brakes on our alone time is an understatement.

So, here we are, almost a week later and I've gotten so much lust coursing through my system every time I so much as _smell_ Bella that Jasper patted me on the back and just left.

Apparently, now _I'm _the intolerable bastard.

Carlisle has been essential in getting everyone out of the house. He keeps telling me that they don't mind leaving since we really haven't had any time to ourselves since my arrival into this world…and Emmett is a cock blocking son of a bitch.

Bella and I have been plotting ways to get him back…soon.

The others left almost an hour ago with a wink and a smirk…and Bella is locked in her room mixing some new music.

I feel like I'm ready to crawl the fuck out of my skin.

"Bella?"

I was standing on the balcony outside of our room overlooking the backyard.

My plan for this time is to keep her as naked as I can as long as I can.

This won't work if she won't come to me.

"Bella?"

My impatience was growing rapidly and I felt myself nearing a tantrum of epic proportions if Bella didn't show me some attention.

Her light and airy voice made it's way to my immortal ears, "Yes, Edward? What is it?"

"Could you come here for a second?"

I stood with my back to the door and waited.

And waited.

…and waited…

Finally when I couldn't stand it anymore, I flew to her room – not bothering to slow down enough to actually open the door.

Splinters and broken glass flew in every direction as I turned towards her turntables to see her. Surprisingly, she wasn't there. I know I must have looked like a cartoon character – my head whipping from side to side until my eyes landed on her silk robed silhouette on the private balcony to her room.

"Edward," she scolded humorously, "I was really fond of that door. Esme flew it in from near my birthplace in Italy…"

I came up to her back and wrapped my arms around her midsection, laying my chin on her shoulders.

"I'm sorry babe," I murmured against the skin on her neck, "but our family has given us the present of time to ourselves and I can't see squandering any of it. I want you, love…in the worst way possible."

I pulled her back flush against my body and grinding into her backside.

She leaned her head back against my shoulder and whispered, "I agree."

I looked down her body at the skin that was visible through the slight gap in her robe and groaned to see that she _had_ been waiting for me.

She was naked under the robe.

My hands ghosted down the front of the silk to the belt. I toyed with it for a little bit before slowly pulling it loose. Bella's robe fell open for me and I loved the view of her perky little breasts.

Lightly running my palms over her nipples I had no choice but to moan when her body reacted to me…her nipples were extremely sensitive to my touch.

"God, Edward," her breathy moans ran a live wire straight from my ears to my dick, "Don't tease me baby, I can't take it."

The way she was arching her back was rubbing her perfect ass against me and I wasn't far from making a Bella sized whole in the wall of the house to get her in the room.

Knowing that everyone was out of sight range, I spun Bella to face me, her robe fluttering in the breeze. I kissed her hard and tore the robe from her body, flinging it over the balcony.

I took a step back to admire the beautiful curves and lines of her body…this was always one of my favorite moments of making love with Bella – the initial disrobing. There was nothing sexier than to see her go from completely covered up to naked. Seeing her nude form, even with my infallible memory, was like the first time, every time.

"Edward," she whispered, "you're making me feel really self-conscious. I don't mind you looking at me but it would be nice to talk or touch…something."

I chuckled. Poor baby, I can't believe that she didn't know by now how just stunning she is to me.

I ran my fingers from her silent pulse point down to the hollow point in her throat, past her beautiful collarbones. Skimming lightly over her breasts, my fingers continued their trail to her navel and to the beautiful lips I'd been dreaming of for days now.

Bella sucked a noisy breath in as I grazed her clit and her knees buckled beneath her.

I put my hands around her waist and lowered her to the cement below us.

I quickly shed my clothes and joined her.

"Mmmm, Edward," she purred when I teased her opening with just my tip.

God, I loved hearing her talk…and I loved to tease her – it spurred her to talk more. I won't say that I don't get sick pleasure from feeling how wet she gets for me.

"Bella," I gasped as I sheathed myself in her warmth, "Oh, God."

Bella stayed there, completely still, allowing me to find the strength to not embarrass myself on the first thrust.

After a few calming breaths, I began to move inside her.

This never got old…oh, God…_never_.

"Edward…" her moaning was getting louder and I couldn't be smugger about the fact that it's _me_ that makes this sex kitten make these noises.

The pace picked up quickly and I found both of us nearing our release faster than I wanted.

_Oh well!_ My less noble side cheered. _The faster we both get off, the faster we can do it again!_

My less noble side could be such a douche-y teenager sometimes.

As we both reached our respective peaks, the thrusting became harder and harder. I flung myself over the edge at about the same time she did…we bit each other at precisely the same time.

At the end of the bite we were coming down from our climaxes, I felt the earth shift underneath us.

"Um," Bella's slightly breathless voice giggled in my ear, "that was really intense. I don't think I've ever had a better orgasm…the earth is moving under me."

Knowing that she was feeling the awesome feelings too made me cocky…until I felt the shift again, this time at a much more defined angle.

Within seconds, before either of us could really comprehend what was happening, the columns supporting the balcony shattered, collapsing the solid ground we were both laying on.

As the debris began to settle, I wiped some marble dust from Bella's face.

Laughing, we spoke at the same time.

From Bella – "_Whoops!_"

From me – "Esme is going to be so pissed. I bet we get kicked out."

We laughed for a few more moments before I said fuck it and kissed the breath right from her lungs.

**A/N: Are we up for more destruction people?! Leave me a review! Also, remember that I'm entering the **_**Tales From The Void2**_** contest. I'd love for all of you to come on over and vote. It's completely anonymous, so I can't tell you which batch of fuckery is mine, so just vote for the one you think is best…and vote often. ; )**


	23. The Destruction Continues

**A/N: Still not beta'd…cause I'm retardedly late. I'm very sorry about missing last Friday but I'm battling Lupus flares **_**and**_** some badass depression. I'm truly sorry but know that I'm working on the next update right now to get it to you as quick as possible.**

**Thanks to my Dil9 who stands beside me no matter what kind of shit my brain comes up with.**

**Thanks to everyone who voted for the Tales from the Void2 contest. The voting will end very soon so if you haven't voted yet…please do.**

**Thank you's to everyone who has been reading/reviewing/favoriting. I *heart* you all.**

**Make me happy and review?**

**EPOV**

Days passed as they tend to do.

We were nearing the end of our time alone and I was quickly becoming antsy at the idea of having to share my beautiful mate with anyone…I hadn't reached my fill of having her in any way my brain could conjure up.

We had to take a short break yesterday to hunt. We were going to get so much shit from Emmett about all of the trees that we took out when he gets back – there was no doubt in my mind.

The evidence of our insatiable appetites we apparent all over the house; small holes in the walls, the collapsed balcony, destroyed furniture, missing windows…the list goes on and on.

It is such a good thing that we don't have many human visitors – we'd never be able to explain away the damage.

Today we were taking it easy, sitting in the living room on the couch and watching movies.

I was half lying on the sofa with Bella in between my legs. She lay against me and sighed contentedly as I played with her soft hair. I was trying not to be a dog, allowing us some romantic time without it all being about sex.

For the past few hours she had her head on my bare chest, occasionally nuzzling it with her face – inhaling deeply.

"Do you miss it?"

Bella raised her face to look at me straight on, "Miss what?"

I chuckled lightly at the confused look on her face, "Miss the heartbeat, the tasty smell…"

She smiled at me before nuzzling back into my chest, "I kinda miss your heartbeat – it was the most significant sound in my world. You never smelled tasty in _that_ way to me and since becoming immortal, your smell has become more pungent to me. Your smell is a lot like pheromones to me. For us vampires, we rely a lot on our sense of smell. We use it like a homing device to find our food, dangers in the area…and locating our mates. Your unique scent is like sex personified to me. It lets me know if you're okay, if you're in need of _bonding _time with me…it really is amazing how it works."

I grinned while watching her press her face to the skin of my chest and inhale deeply. When she raised her face to me again, her eyes were a perfect shade of liquid onyx.

I immediately knew what she meant by saying what she did about our scents. The lilac I normally smelled around her was increased exponentially and tinged with a slight musky scent that I know as her distinct smell when she becomes aroused.

I leaned forward slowly, wanting to draw out the anticipation as much as possible. I brushed her lips with my own – the feather light feeling giving me the same tingling feeling I had as a human when I would get goose bumps.

The light brushing continued and her hands began to explore the skin of my pectorals. I shivered lightly under her touch. Her fingers burned red hot trails of fire all over my body.

I pushed myself back into the cushions on the sofa and arched into her touch.

_The things this woman does to my body should be illegal._

After a few moments of touching, it didn't seem to be enough anymore – her tongue began tasting the skin of my chest and neck.

Her explorations were firing me up and my immortal mind began to whiz with ideas of where I could take her.

_Hmm, Esme did buy that piano for me to play with…I'd imagine Bella would look ethereal splayed across the lid._

At that moment my cell phone chimed with a text message but I chose to ignore it.

_I've always wanted to do her against the wall in our room…_

My cell phone chimed again…and again…and again.

_Okay asshole, I'll bite._

I reached for my cell phone, ignoring the slightly frustrated look on Bella's face.

Every last text was from Alice.

**If you damage that piano, Esme will kill you.**

**Just so you know, you're going to have to deal with shitstorm Esme when we return.**

**I haven't told her about the damage to the house yet.**

**Keep ignoring me when I'm trying to help you and I'll give her a head's up.**

I sent back a quick reply: **Thanks sis. I owe you one.**

Only seconds later I received the reply: **Vera Wang heels. Size 6. Blood red.**

I laughed and sent her my final word at the moment: **Done.**

I waited for a few moments and didn't receive anything back so I took it as a green light to continue.

I pulled her legs to straddle me and in one fluid motion was standing with her beautiful limbs wrapped around my waist. I wanted to be inside her immediately, if not sooner.

My ascent of the stairs was speedy, even by vampire standards and we were inside our bedroom in no time flat.

I rid us of our clothes quickly – without her legs unwrapping from my waist…I was becoming insanely proud of my vampire reflexes.

Plunging inside of her, I pinned her arms above her head with my hands – using my strength to keep her entire body wide open to me.

Rather than the brutal pounding I was itching for, I rocked in and out of her…never fully leaving her warmth.

After a few rocks of my hips, I could hear the plaster begin to crack behind us and I could feel her begin to sink into the wall. Even knowing this, neither one of us could stop. Her heels pressed into my ass, urging me further into her.

My hips repeatedly rocked into hers at an ever increasing pace and the cracking became louder.

Bella's moaning became my biggest priority and the sounds from the wall behind us just seemed to fall away…just in time for the wall to fall away from us and us to land on the floor of Emmett and Rose's bedroom.

Bella shrieked for a quick second before her moaning reached a fever pitch and I felt her shuddering around my dick while I continued to grind my pelvis to hers – chasing my own end.

I fell apart still embedded deep inside her and laughed as we both came down from our high.

I heard my phone chime again but Bella raced down the stairs ahead of me, snatching the phone from the end table.

Her tinkling giggle made it's way to my ears.

"We're so dead!" she laughed loudly.

"What's going on, babe?" I asked as I hit the last step.

Bella extended the phone to me and I read the message from Alice, not able to help the nervous laughter that bubbled up my throat.

**This is your 10 minute warning. We were on our way back and I got a vision of Esme screaming at you. Long story short, we were within hearing range when you and my sister broke Emmett's wall. Emmett is going to be pissed but it's nothing compared to what you're going to endure when Esme sees the damage you two have done to her house.**

_Well, shit._


	24. Sensual Edward Part 1 - Bella POV

**A/N: Yeah, updating has been a very irritating situation for me here lately – my muse has been a bitch and has not been forthcoming with any material. Plus having to deal with massive Lupus flares that have left me all but bedridden and ANOTHER sinus infection that had so much pressure in my sinus cavity that I felt my head would explode has not helped my writing either.**

**Sorry to anyone I missed when I did my review replies. Just because I didn't reply doesn't mean that I haven't read each and every one – they all make me extraordinarily giddy.**

**This chapter and the next are in Bella's POV…just because that's how it came to me – I hope ya'll enjoy it.**

**I really hope everyone's Christmas was wonderful and I sincerely pray that everyone's New Year's is great too. Let's all wish for 2013 to be 150% better than 2012 was. The second part of this chapter is done and at Dil9's house to be beta'd. As soon as I get it back, I'll upload it…I'm hoping that it can be a New Year's present to all of you.**

**On with the funniness/sexiness.**

Bella's POV

I sat alone in my studio mixing some new tracks for Emmett's endless music collection. Edward was out on a solitary hunt today – something that he chose to do from time to time…none of us really minded because of his impeccable control.

My mind wandered as I did the mindless mixing of _Beauty and a Beat_ by that damned cute Beiber kid.

Edward was everything I could have asked for if I'd have known what I wanted in a mate.

There were moments when we would just go out to the meadow on our property and lay in the grass for days on end, just enjoying each other's company and staring at the passing clouds and stars at night.

We had days when we'd pick fun at each other. Playful Edward was immensely entertaining to be around. It seems that I've found a mate that can actually put Emmett in his place. Edward pranked Em more than anyone else and we all got a good kick out of his momentary misery.

_Decades of being picked on will do that to a person._

Sensual Edward was my favorite so far. He'd get into these insatiable moods after a solo hunt and I couldn't get enough of him like that.

Thinking of sensual Edward brought my mind back to last week when our family had gotten back from their week long hunt.

_I heard her long before I heard the rest of the family approach…this only meant one thing – Edward and I were in serious shit with Esme._

"_Isabella Marie Cullen and Edward Masen Swan! There had better be a damned good reason why my house looks like an earthquake shook it to death! Oh, my God! What did you two _do_? Never mind, I don't want to know. The only thing I'm really concerned with is how and when do you two plan on fixing it? My balconies! Shit!"_

_I couldn't move for the fear that coursed like ice down my spine. Edward was killing himself laughing at the situation._

_I sat amidst the rubble, my hair in serious disarray – thankful for the heads up from Alice so that we could at least get dressed. I would have been mortified if she'd caught us naked._

_After her angry tirade the rest of the family came through the tree line cautiously, Emmett following everyone else – his hearty laugh booming through the trees._

"_Why, Bella, it seems like your newborn isn't as tame as he likes to pretend to be. At least Rosie and I weren't dumb enough to tear down Esme's house. We fucked up our own and just let Esme help us fix it."_

_I could hear the resounding crack from Rose smacking the back of his head, no doubt._

_If I could have blushed or cried, I'm sure I would have had a face full of blood and tears._

_Esme, thankfully, took pity on us…it _was_ our first offense, after all._

_She made us clean up our mess with no help and then made us help her redesign and rebuild everything we demolished._

_Two days later the house looked better than what it had before we wrecked it._

Back in the present - I sat at the tables putting the finishing touches on the track and saving it to Emmett's folder.

I heard the swift feet of my mate as he flew over the blades of grass in the back yard leading up to the house.

I felt him before he touched me.

His unneeded breaths caressed the back of my neck as he took in my scent.

I trembled slightly as his arms wound around my waist…It seemed Edward had come back from the hunt feeling rather sensual…this meant hours of agony for our family as they tried their damnedest to ignore the sexing that was going on in our part of the house.

Poor Jasper couldn't take it anymore…after just a few short moments of the lust flying through the air.

"Fuck it ya'll! I'm out! Call me when they get done."

"Jasper Whitlock!" Esme always scolded us when the F word was used.

I was able to catch a light, "Sorry mom…" float along the breeze as he made himself scarce.

Edward chuckled darkly into the skin of my throat, no doubt at the fleeting thoughts of our adopted brother.

"He _is_ right, you know…" he murmured, gently dragging his lips across my neck, "I plan on ravishing you properly in just a moment. It feels like I haven't had you in months."

My tinkling laugh sounded carefree, even to my ears, "It's only been a couple of days, Edward."

"My love, you must remember that you have a newborn vampire on your hands that was turned at the peak of his sexual awesomeness." Trust Edward to remind me of that!

"Sexual awesomeness?"

"Yes. I'm awesome sexually…love…you can't deny it." He smirked

Okay…seductive Edward was feeling a bit playful…well; two can play that game sweetheart.

"Hmmm," I hummed as if in deep thought, "I don't know. There are days when it seems I'm the one who's awesome and you turn into an old man with no libido…"

"Is that right?"

His low growling in my ear went straight to the pit of my stomach.

In a flash even to my immortal eyes, I was pinned to the bed across the room with Edward hovering precariously above me – a playful gleam in his eyes.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure your libido is that of a several hundred year old vampire."

A tickle fight ensued that caused me to end up all but breathless and begging for mercy.

"Okay Edward," I squealed, "You win! You reek of sexual awesomeness and I need to learn to keep up!"

He laughed just before he slowly licked up the side of my throat.

"This is my favorite taste…even more so than the taste of a mountain lion…and that's saying something love."

My laughter died in my throat as I took in his rapidly darkening eyes. I loved how he'd look at me…like he was a starving man and I was an all you can eat buffet.

As he lowered his lips to my petrified jugular vein, I could feel myself tremble in anticipation of what was to come.


	25. Sensual Edward Part 2 - Still BPOV

**AN: Sorry for the excruciatingly long wait – it's been really special trying to update since my laptop decided to give up the ghost…thankfully, my Smartphone has a word processor…sadly it's hell trying to write on the damned little bitty keypad.**

**This is the last ACTUAL chapter for this story – Chapter 26 will be the epilogue. I **_**do**_** plan on a sequel to this story…but first, ggb-luma and I will be doing a collaboration. It will be J/B pairing – rated M…I'm really excited for this new project.**

**Here's a brief overview of what has happened up until this point since it's been so long since I updated: Edward had tried to commit suicide after losing his girlfriend, Amber. His mother made him move to Forks, WA to live with his father. A short time after his arrival, he sees the infamous Cullens – Bella specifically. He falls in lust with her and they form a tentative friendship. Bella knows he is her mate and explains her background – specifically that she's a good blood drinker. After they begin to see each other exclusively, Aro comes to visit. Being the shady old bastard he is – he slits Edward's throat, forcing Bella to make the ultimate decision: save her mate or let him die. She changes him and they begin their forever. Chaos and hilarity ensue.**

**Love all of you guys! Please leave me a review and let me know what you'd like to see in the sequel. : )**

Still Bella's POV

"Mmmm…love," he murmured huskily against my throat, "It smells like you missed me too. I hunted with the memory of the scent of your arousal on my mind. It made for an increasingly more unbearable hunt. I kept thinking of the way your eyes darkened to pitch black as you neared your release…the moan that would tear its way from the depths of your soul as you climaxed. You really are a most exquisite thing I've ever laid eyes on when you fall apart around me."

I shuddered almost imperceptibly – my mate caught it only because we were so in tune with each other.

"It seems like you need some time with me almost as badly as I need the time with you."

I leaned my head back, giving him more access to my throat and moaned low in my throat. I loved it when Edward talked like this. It made me feel less like an insatiable whore knowing that he wanted me just as much as I wanted him.

Low below us I heard Emmett groan to Rosalie, "Babe! That's _hot_! I want to do things to that banging ass body right now!"

I didn't listen any closer as I heard them take off to the forest. Esme and Carlisle had been long gone since our display of affection had started. They tended to get to the farthest part of the property to show their devotion to each other.

In truth, I think they were much kinkier than we were and just didn't want to deal with the ribbing that would come from Emmett if he ever found out.

Alice was locked away in her fashion office – no doubt designing more clothes for all us…trying desperately to give us as much privacy as she was able to.

Edward ground his jean clad length into my overheated and wet core as he murmured his dedication to me fervently into my skin.

I felt like I was slowly losing my mind as he continued to lightly rub our hips against each other.

Slowly he tore the t-shirt from my torso, kissing each new piece of exposed flesh he saw before throwing it to the floor.

Knowing that Edward would be back from the hunt today, I had wisely forgone wearing a bra – they never fared well when he came back from hunting without me.

His lips grazed over the flesh of my nipples – always so sensitive to his touch. They reacted immediately, pebbling against the soft warmth of his lips.

"It pleases me immensely that your body is so reactive to me, love," he whispered as his lips worked the hardened buds…working me into a slow frenzy, "to know that I'm the only man who can do this to you. To know that no matter what could happen in the future, it will always be _my_ name that falls from your mouth."

His words were driving me to the brink of madness. I couldn't form a coherent sentence much less a few words to answer him so I ended up nodding my head feverishly.

Edward lightly dragged his nose across the fabric of my jeans inhaling the scent of the darkening fabric.

Onyx eyes raised to mine as he silently asked my permission, always the gentleman. I couldn't stop the keening noise that came from the pit of my stomach as his nose nudged my throbbing clit through the material – I was close to shredding the jeans myself, anxious for him to find that I was without panties at this moment as well.

Finding all the answers he needed in my eyes and noises, my jeans met the same fate as my t shirt.

"Isabella!" he chided playfully, his eyes becoming impossibly darker, "It's dangerous for you to go without undergarments around me. It's incredibly sexy that you thought ahead of me coming home wanting you. You have captured my desire so completely, Bella. I've never wanted another as much as I crave being inside of you."

I turned my head and groaned into the pillow as his tongue met my slick folds.

"The most divine nectar ever created," he purred into the wetness he encountered as he took another swipe with his tongue.

I craved being with him this way so much – I hoped that eventually the desire would calm down some so that we could act as normally as the other mated couples in the house.

I remembered my 'girl talk' with Alice, Rose and Esme…it had finally calmed down for each of them within a decade of meeting their mates.

Jesus! Would it really feel like this for an entire _decade_? My mind reeled at that possibility.

As Edward continued the care on my aching core, my mind emptied itself of all coherent thought, leaving me a breathless heap of feeling.

Feelings so intense coursed through my body like tidal waves and I knew that if I wasn't able to stop him, I would be coming soon and I wanted desperately to get mine with him firmly plunged inside of me.

"Edward…baby…" I panted, completely bereft of breath, "I need you babe. I need you…_inside_ me…_now_."

I emphasized my point by wiggling my butt a little bit making it more difficult for his tongue to touch anything he had wanted.

His head popped up quickly into my line of vision, "I'm not done yet, love. I want to feel you in all ways possible before I greedily take what I want."

He began to kiss up my body – his fingers finding the overheated skin that his mouth had just left. He slowly worked two fingers inside of me. Finding all of the sweet spots, he massaged the skin unrelentingly as his mouth found mine just in time to swallow all of the new keening that was coming out of my mouth.

Edward's mouth was sinful but his dexterous fingers were divine.

No matter what part of his body was touching mine, I found myself constantly in heaven.

"Baby!" my voice was a near scream…I was nearing my precipice and I needed him more than blood…more than anything else in the world.

He smirked my favorite crooked grin as he grabbed my ankles gently, crossed them, and placed them onto his shoulder, teasing my entrance with his tip.

My hips were elevated off the bed and I found myself completely at his mercy.

As his impressive length filled and stretched me deliciously, I found myself unable and unwilling to move. This position allowed him to enter me so deeply. I felt like he was a part of me – it was truly the joining of two souls.

Edward kept my ankles anchored securely to his shoulder as he rocked his hips into mine in heavy, slow thrusts.

The only noises were those of our moans and groans of pleasure mixed with whispered words of eternal love from each of us.

I danced lithely along the precipice – disinclined to jump over the edge. I wanted this feeling to last as long as it possibly could.

His pace began to falter slightly as he neared his release. The solid look of concentration on his face was endearing. He was feeling just as I was – he was trying to draw it out as long as he was able to.

"Edward," I murmured quickly, "Open your eyes baby. Keep your eyes on mine. I want to _see _you."

Not without difficulty, he managed to open his eyes, locking them with mine.

As he got closer to letting go, his eyes rolled slightly when he would hit a perfect spot inside of me.

I found myself answering in kind. There were certain spots within me that drove me crazy when he caressed them.

I felt my muscles begin to tighten as his pace began to speed up.

"Bella," he whispered huskily, "I love you baby. Being with you for eternity simply won't be long enough. I want to spend several eternities making you feel this way and being with you like this. You truly are my soul mate."

The tightening continued on to blissful levels and hearing him tell me how much he adored me made the process just that much faster.

Edward locked gazes with me and I felt him lose himself inside of me…with me following directly behind him.

After we had both calmed down from our release Edward kept us in the same position as we had when we were making love. He nuzzled the frozen veins in my ankles with his lips.

"I love you so much," I sighed at the tender care he always took with me after such an intense joining.

"As I love you," he murmured.

Slowly, he let my legs down to rest beside him on the bed and leaned down, pressing his ear to my chest – right over my silent heart.

He lay down on me, resting on my chest, cuddling to me as I normally would to him.

I closed my eyes and remembered the feeling of sleep – it had been over a century since I had felt the blissful oblivion of sleep, but I still recalled exactly how it felt to just let it all go for several hours.

Edward did the same and we stayed frozen together for the rest of the evening…long after the others had returned to the house.

I could hear the random conversations that they started amongst themselves.

Rose and Jasper were talking about adding a different lift kit to his truck. Esme was talking to Carlisle about the new flowers she wanted to plant for the spring.

Emmett was talking to Alice about the new music I had been making for him, "I swear, Al! She agreed to dubstep the hell out of _Beauty and a Beat_ for me! It's going to be awesome but I'm sure you've already seen that. I plan on getting ahold of Rosie to that song but I'm sure you've already know that too. I'll be banging my beauty to the beat! Ha-ha! I'm so funny sometimes!"

From near the garage, Rose chimed in, "Alice?"

I could hear the smack reverberate off the walls several times. The living room had amazing acoustics.

Edward's body trembled against mine with suppressed laughter.

"Babe?" Emmett whined, "It's true! I crack myself up! Aren't you glad that your mate is sexy _and_ funny? I'm fantastic in my own right!"

I joined Edward's laughter at our brother. He always had something funny to say – even when he was trying desperately to be serious.

I knew that our family would still be going strong centuries from now.

I had great hopes for the future.


	26. My Life Is Awesome

**A/N: So here it is – the epilogue. I'm sad to say that this is the temporary end for this story but would like to remind you all that I **_**will**_** be revisiting it later on in the form of a sequel. Thank you for coming with me on this journey – it's been a blast. I'm thankful to have met so many wonderful who constantly astound me with their amazing kindness.**

**Dil9 – I couldn't have done this without you. You are an amazing woman and I KNOW that your life holds amazement and wonder for you. I consider you a sister of my heart. You make up an amazing part of my life and I love you, dear friend.**

**ggb-luma – darling. You rock my world. Seriously. Fo Sho. ; ) I'm so glad to have met you and that you not only deal with my insanity, you feed, encourage and nurture it. I love you more than I could possibly say.**

**Enough with the heavy – let's get on with this last chapter.**

Edward POV (One last time)

I stood on the new balcony my love and I created...quite literally. I watched over the back lawn with mild disinterest. My mind was in one place with one woman...

My Bella…

My eternal true mate….

My heart soared as I thought about being tied to this one woman…forever.

I truly had never been aware of how dead I was before I met her after so many years wasted on menial things.

Some higher power decided it was time for me to be tested.

What Bella did for me...she awoke and restored my soul. I would do anything to know that she was safe with me at all times.

I couldn't bear the thought of not having her forever.

She romanced my brain with long discussions about every possible topic, conventional or not.

She enticed my body with every delicious inch of her being. Every sound she made etched itself into my nervous system. There were moments of time where the air was so thickly charged with my need for things only she could give me.

Complete peace.

Merging of two halves of the same soul.

Oneness.

This became a sensitive topic with my brothers and I. Apparently, Jasper hadn't been able to escape fast enough one day because he felt how strongly I felt for Bella...and projected it to everyone in the house.

Emmett kills himself joking over how whipped I was.

There were days when his ribbing would never cease. He was like a big kid with a new toy he couldn't shut up about.

Even Rose's threats weren't enough to keep him at bay.

He was sitting in the living room playing one of his RPG video games.

That day had started out wonderfully. Bella and I had started the day out in her studio - her showing me the latest tracks she's been working on. God, it astounds me to know how smart she is. She's so clever.

She was in the process of showing me the hidden beats in the bridge of I Knew You Were Trouble, when, from down below us I heard Emmett's voice as clearly as if he were sitting next to me, "Maybe his girlie feelings stem from wanting for Bella to fuck his ass."

I don't recall much after that for a moment until Bella's hands on my chest broke through the fog. In my anger, I had caught Emmett completely off guard and had him pinned to the wall by his throat...my razor sharp teeth millimeters from his granite skin.

Bella pushed herself in between us and placed her hands on my chest and pushed forcefully, causing me to lose my grip on the frightened vampire before me.

"Emmett," Bella's voice spoke soothingly to her big little brother, "You must remember that your brother, MY mate, is still a new born in the fullest sense of the word and you will do well to remember that our feelings about each other are a pretty hard limit for Edward. If you keep on, little brother, you'd better hope I'm close by to stop him from ending your life."

I stood, still growling at the man I consider a brother and trembling while desperately trying to calm down.

Bella stood up on her toes, bringing her moist lips close enough to my ears that they teased my skin, "Edward, seeing you all possessive makes me hot. Let's go into the forest. I need you to fuck me hard."

I smirked at Emmett's slack jaw and turned my face into her neck, growling lowly, enjoying the scent of her arousal as it slowly filled the air.

I grabbed her hand and we ran through the door, the slam echoing loudly.

We were in a secluded spot in the woods within moments in a small clearing surrounded by trees. I whirled around to get my hands on my sexy mate, only to find her a few yards away from me, her back against a thick cedar tree and her hand extended to me in attempt to make me pause.

I stood there not moving a single muscle so that she could say whatever she felt needed to be said.

She didn't want to speak, however, when she was sure all of my attention remained fully on her.

She began to move enticingly against the tree bark to whatever song played in her head. Slowly, she removed her shirt, affording me a view of her beautiful breasts confined by a midnight blue lace bra. I shifted uncomfortably as I watched this erotic striptease. Turning around, she bent at the waist and wiggled her ass in my direction as she unbuttoned and unzipped her skin tight jeans. I watched in awe as she moved one side of her jeans down before pulling it back up as the other side lowered.

I knew my eyes were getting dark looking at the scraps of lace that covered her ass as they were exposed. I found myself unbelievably hard in my own jeans, wanting nothing more than to bury myself in her wetness.

I palmed myself through the material, unsatisfied with the feeling before taking my cock in hand. I brought my right hand up to my mouth and licked the skin from my palm to the tips of my fingers, coating it in my venom and sliding it along my length. I groaned as Bella turned back around to me.

Bella had unfastened her bra and slid it across her skin before tossing it aside. Her hands moved stealthily across each breast, palming them hard like she knew I loved to do myself. She leaned harder back into the tree and teased her way into her panties. The skimpy lace didn't conceal anything as her fingers found her dripping folds.

I slid my hand more roughly along my skin, needing what she was offering, unwilling to do without it much longer.

In a few sure strides, I was inches away from her, listening to the sounds of her fingers playing in her wetness.

I was about to come undone.

I grabbed her wrist and pulled her hand from her panties, pausing as I brought them to my lips. I parted my lips and swirled my tongue around her fingers, still glistening from her sex. She tasted divine.

Bella leaned her head against the tree and let out a deep, throaty moan as I rid her fingers of any proof of her arousal.

I pulled her hands together and placed them against the tree above her head.

My length was already free of the material of my jeans...if she wanted me naked, she would have to strip me herself.

I angled myself to where I could use my other hand to spread her legs and thrust in forcefully, my mouth absorbing her wanton moans.

I set a punishing pace, our bodies crashing together, the wet sounds of me claiming my mate echoing off the trees that surround us.

"Oh Edward," Bella moaned loudly, "yes baby...fuck me...harder."

Her verbal encouragement egged me on and I found myself drilling into her as hard as I was able without hurting her.

Bella's walls began to flutter around my cock, doing the most delicious things to me.

I could feel my balls tighten with my impending release...I would be chasing my own end soon enough...I wanted to feel her come on my cock.

"God, Edward," she ground out all breathlessly, "Bite me baby. I need to feel your venom in my skin. I NEED to have your mark on me so everyone will know just by looking at me that I'm yours."

I let out a feral roar as her request raced through my mind. She had never asked me to mark her before. I knew that it was a special thing shared by mates when the time was right.

All of the mated couples at the house had bites from their mates on the side of their throats...and I knew there were many others on each family member away from prying eyes.

She tilted her head to the side allowing me access to the place where my mark would reside for all of eternity. I growled in my throat as I sniffed the side of her neck.

Her walls clamped down on me hard as I roared loudly before sinking my teeth deep in her flesh.

Her release was instantaneous as was mine. I was unable to unclamp my jaws from the skin they were pumping venom into her frozen veins.

A beautiful keening noise left her lips before the pleasure became too much and her knees gave out on her. I kept her pinned to my body and was finally able to loosen my mouth from her throat.

Her skin was rapidly healing itself, still glistening from my venom, her eyes glazed over from the exertion of our escapade.

I leaned down to ghost my lips over hers.

"I love you," I murmured against her mouth.

Her murky response thrilled me to the depths of my soul, "More than my own life..."

My life is awesome...

**Last A/N: Please leave me one last review for this story. I've enjoyed writing it.**

**My hands tremble as I finally press **_**Complete**_**.**


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